A Collection of Drabbles!
by scrumptiousinternetllama
Summary: A collection of drabbles! Forty-eighth drabble: Dean disappears without a trace - Seamus finds him, but he's not happy,
1. Caught in the act (Molly & Bellatrix)

**AN: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I am simply borrowing it for a fic. Enjoy!**

 **I was on the truth or dare forum on 'The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition' and took a dare and decided to publish it :)**

 **"I don't think I've written any weird fanfiction so I'll do the dare!"**

Caught in the act (Molly/Bellatrix)

Molly scrambled under the nearest desk the moment she heard the door to the potions classroom opening. She knew she shouldn't have taken Gideon's dare to steal potions ingredients. What had she been thinking?! If she was caught then she'd be excluded for sure. She held her breath as she heard heavy footsteps on the stone floor and felt the cold seeping into her knees. She was about to attempt an escape when she heard a crash- and couldn't contain a scream. "Who's there?!" A voice yelled. It was scratchy, like a smoker's voice... but the rich undertone let her know who she was dealing with. It wasn't her potions professor. "Get out from where you're hiding!" It came again and Molly hesitantly crawled out from under the desk to face her girlfriend. Peeping over the desk, she ducked, seeing the glass bottle Bellatrix was about to throw. "Shit! Molly I didn't know it was you!"

* * *

Bellatrix hurried to where she had seen her girlfriend duck and helped her up. "What on earth did you think you were doing?!" Molly yelled. She had a right to be angry.

"Sorry... I was just angry." Bellatrix dropped the bottle she was holding, horrified that she had been about to throw it at the only person she found tolerable in this school. She stared at the shards, unable to look at the girl she had come to love. She didn't even look up when she felt Molly's arms encircle her waist- her insufficient apology accepted.


	2. I'm keeping this baby (Remus & Tonks)

I'm keeping this baby (Remus/Tonks)

They sat there in silence, the clock behind them ticking steadily as if something momentous hadn't just happened. "A-are you sure?" Remus asked. His voice was a hoarse whisper, sleep still on the edges. Tonks nodded, she had taken the tests and cast the diagnostics herself. "I- I mean you could have made an error. It's not as if you're a trained medical professional." She knew he was trying not to piss her off with the insult- but she honestly couldn't care less. She was pregnant!

"I can't exactly walk into St. Mungos can I?" She said with a smirk. "It's too dangerous, so the next best thing is myself, if we don't want anyone else to know for the time being." She could only imagine how overbearingly protective her mother would be. She looked across at her husband, unsure about what was going on in his head. He didn't look happy- she'd expected a bigger reaction, jumping for joy or at least a smile! She wasn't jumping because she didn't know whether it would harm the baby- she'd have to look all of that up later- and her smile had dissipated after Remus' lack of a reaction.

Remus let out a sigh, "I… I think we made a mistake." Tonks looked up, feeling as if she'd been slapped in the face.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Her arms were crossed and her posture, previously relaxed against the worktop, had straightened. He let out another sigh and rubbed his eyes, looking tired. He walked over to her, his steps slow and sure. His serenity pissed her off. How could he be so calm after what he just said?!

"Tonks," He said slowly, surveying her reaction. He was stood directly in front of her now. "I don't think you should keep this bab-" He didn't get to finish the thought, Tonks reached up and slapped him across the face.

"How dare you." She hissed, "This child isn't a mistake." She looked at him, the man she loved, as he recovered from the sharp sting of her blow. She felt bad, awful actually, but she wasn't about to let him know.

"It could have-" Oh for fucks sake.

"Lycanthropy?!" She shouted and he flinched, surprised by her sudden change of tone. "Why does that matter?!" It was what had kept them apart for so long- and when they'd finally come together it hadn't made an ounce of a difference to their relationship. Why would it make a difference to their child?

"How would you cope with a child that has lycanthropy?" He asked, "How could you cope knowing that your child is a monster?! How could I look at my child knowing that it was _me_ who made them a social outcast, that _I'm_ the reason they're unloved?!"

"Unloved?!" That was it. "Are you joking me?! Tell me one reason I wouldn't love my child!"

"It would be a werewolf, Tonks!"

"So are you but I still love you!" He flinched at the reminder but it was time he stopped being afraid. "It doesn't make an ounce of a difference to me- so why would you not love your child?" She had lost her steam, simply asking him a question.

Remus shook his head, "I would love my child, don't doubt that, but other pe-"

"Who cares about other people?" She whispered, close to tears. "You thought 'other people' would care when you were younger. And what happened? You found your best friends and- surprise surprise, they didn't give a shit." Remus stepped back, sinking into the chair at the dining table. "I'm keeping this baby Remus." And when he didn't reply, she spun and left the room.


	3. Hiding (Cho & Blaise)

Hiding (Cho/Blaise)

"I don't understand why you can't just be civil!" Cho yelled, exasperated with boy opposite her. "This is why we have to hide!"

"What do you want me to do? Go around licking all your mates' arses?" Blaise asked mockingly, "Even if I did, they'd still hate me. I'm a Slytherin- friends with Draco Malfoy! Stop trying to act like I'm the one to blame here when I've only ever been civil. It's _your_ mates that throw the dirty looks and start the arguments!" Cho sank into the sofa the room had provided.

The two of them had been meeting up secretly in the room of requirement since the start of the year, after they had gotten into a relationship.

"I don't want to hide," Cho said, letting out a sigh. "But we're going to have to until your friends don't hate me-"

"And yours don't hate me." Blaise added with a grumble, taking a seat next to her. He was sick of all of this- of all the division by houses. It was ridiculous.

"Let's try not to hate each other in the meantime then." Cho said with a laugh and Blaise snorted, the previous anger gone.

"That won't be too difficult," Blaise said with a smile, pulling Cho closer to him.

"No it won't be," She agreed. And he could feel her smile against his chest even though he couldn't see it. They weren't going to let stupid rivalries get in the way of their relationship.

* * *

 **I seem to enjoy making couples argue… whoops. At least this argument sorted itself out XD**


	4. Summer at Grimmauld Place (Snamione)

Summer at Grimmauld Place (Severus/Hermione)

Hermione made her way downstairs that morning, already dressed and ready. She knew there was going to be a meeting today and she wanted to seem responsible enough to participate. As far as she knew, nobody had received an 'invite' but most people- apart from her, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George- had been discussing it amongst each other. She was annoyed that they had discounted them all so easily, simply for being the youngest. They weren't that young- especially not herself after all the time turner business.

She walked over to the cupboard, opening it and taking out a mug. Teabag, two sugars. A shuffling from behind her caught her attention- she turned around quickly to see Professor Snape walking in with a limp. "Sir, are you okay?" She asked. At the sound of her voice his head lifted from where it was focused on his leg.

"I'm fine," He grunted- but the pained expression he made when he sat himself down at the kitchen table contradicted him. She didn't bother asking him the question again, he would only snap. Instead she focused her attention on making another cup of tea- she was sure he wouldn't allow her to give him any potions, tea was the next best thing.

He looked up in surprise as she set the cup down before him. Taking the seat opposite him, she watched as he picked up the mug, swirling the contents. She tried not to be offended- he was a potions master, it was a habit to check food and drink for potions. When he seemed to deem the tea safe he lifted it to his lips and took a sip, his Adams apple bobbing as he swallowed. "Thank you," He muttered after a moment, taking another sip. She blinked in surprise and stuttered a quick:

"You're welcome."

They didn't speak after that. Simply sipping their tea and contemplating their roles in the war against Voldemort.

* * *

 **Everyone probably already knows this but I just realised that Grimmauld Place is like grim old place XD**

 **Edit: Thanks Barky (siriusbarks) for pointing out my SpaG error :)**


	5. Leaving (Sirius & Regulus)

Leaving (Regulus & Sirius)

"Are you actually going to leave?" Regulus asked from his big brother's doorway. Sirius turned around and sighed, lifting up his arms. Regulus tentatively entered the room and accepted the hug, returning it.

His parents and brother had just had an argument, ending with Sirius threatening to leave. Regulus had come upstairs to find his brother actually packing his things. Sirius was his big brother, he _couldn't_ leave him alone.

"I'm sorry Reggie," Sirius spoke into his hair, still holding him tight. "I'll owl you, I promise." They broke apart and Regulus attempted to swallow the tight feeling in his throat- it only made everything worse. Made the tears spill.

"Please don't," he whispered. He couldn't speak louder, the lump in his throat threatening to make his voice wobble.

"It won't be all bad," his brother spoke again, gently. "We're at Hogwarts most of the time anyway. And like I said, I'll owl you every day."

Regulus sniffed, "Knowing mum she'd probably burn all the letters from you. And she wouldn't let me write to you either."

"You'll just have to do it sneakily then," Sirius said with a wink.

"Please don't leave me Siri." He said, one final time. Sirius looked at him for a long moment, before wrapping his arms around him and holding tightly.

"I'm sorry Reggie. I have to." He whispered into his hair. Regulus could feel his brother shaking, the heat from his tears dropping into his hair. If it was so difficult then why was he going? But Regulus didn't have time to contemplate that as his brother let go of him and picked up his bag. Wiping his eyes, he spoke again. "Bye Reggie." And left the room. Left him alone.

* * *

 **Okay I think I should do some fluff for the next chapter- I've always found it incredibly frustrating that Sirius never found out about Regulus switching sides, and I've always found their story quite tragic. I hope you enjoyed :)**


	6. The Market (Severus & Hermione)

**AN** : **Another one I did for the Truth or Dare forum :)**

The Market (Severus/Hermione)

Severus looked from the outskirts of the busy market with a look of horror on his face. How on earth was he meant to find Hermione in there?! He sighed, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for her to appear before him. She didn't. He was going to have to go in there... The crowds of pushing shoppers and loud venders was the last place he wanted to go but he knew Hermione would have overdone it with the shopping and he needed to help her with the load.

This was it. He was well and truly in his nightmare. A sweaty vender was pressed against his back and wouldn't _shut up_ about his tomatoes. An old lady had stepped on his toe and a child was crying in his ear. "Severus?" He snapped his head up from where he was glaring at the sandal clad foot that had just stepped on his toe _again,_ and saw who he was looking for. Hermione. She had her unruly hair tied back into a messy bun and, just as he had thought, six full bags on her arms. He pushed forward and almost skipped over to her in delight. "What are you doing here?" She asked, an amused smile on her face.

"I knew you'd have a lot of bags." He said simply, trying not to hex the person who had just bumped into him. And hadn't even _apologised_. Hermione snorted and his attention was drawn back to her. "What?"

"Nothing." She said, concealing the smirk and handing him four of the bags. He shook his head at her obvious happiness with _something_ and looked around with a frown on his face.

"Where's-" But he was cut off by the feeling of a small hand sliding into his. He looked down in surprise and saw who he had been about to enquire about. Lila. His little girl with black curly hair and big brown eyes that were staring up at him.

"Shall we go home?" Hermione asked, and he nodded. Following her lead through the busy market and keeping hold of the little hand in his own.


	7. Staying Back (Evan & Regulus)

**AN: I received an Anon ask on Tumblr asking me to consider this BROTP, so I gave it a go :)**

Staying Back (Evan Rosier & Regulus Black)

"Evan? Evan?" Regulus hissed as he stalked through the dark corridors of Grimmauld Place. The two of them had agreed to meet back here but Evan had been kept back after the last meeting. It had been half an hour since then and Regulus had only just gotten back, deciding to spend some time with his other friends, rather than waiting at home for his best friend to show up. He checked the living room and the kitchen but there was no sign of Evan... _He might have been on a mission?_ Regulus shook his head. Evan hadn't told him about a meeting and the Dark Lord wasn't somebody who just pulled people onto a mission without them having time to plan first. It was too risky.

Just as he had finished searching the first floor, the sharp crack of apparition met his ears. He raced down the steps, jumping the last one and ran into the kitchen where he had heard the noise- then recoiled in horror. "E-Evan?" He stuttered. Stood in front of him was... Evan. But if it wasn't for his size and black robes, Regulus wouldn't have known it was him. He was covered in blood and hunched over, the top of his head looking like it had bald patches, at least from what he could tell in the dark room. He edged forward and reached out to help his friend, shrinking back when he howled at the contact of their skin. "Evan it's me!" But he wasn't listening. _What had the Dark Lord done to him?!_

* * *

 **Edit: I noticed a typo XD**


	8. Daddy Issues (Narcissa & James)

**AN: I've just started a forum called 'Harry Potter Prompts!' And I quite like a couple of the prompts I put up so I'm trying one :)  
** **If you're stuck for writing inspiration or want an idea for a one shot- or just want a challenge then take a look at it- the link is in my profile!**

 **This was originally posted on its own but I moved it here after I made a few edits :)**

 **Prompt:  
** **Characters:** James Potter and Narcissa Malfoy/Black  
 **Words:** Forest and Candles  
 **Song:** Daddy Issues by The Neighbourhood (If you don't like the sound then look up the lyrics) :)

* * *

Daddy Issues (Naricssa & James)

James wandered through the forest in his animagus form, being careful to not hit his antlers off of any trees or trip over any tree roots. The forest wasn't forbidden but it was past curfew and he didn't want to get any points docked if he got caught. Being in his animagus form ensured he wouldn't.

Today had been an odd day, he reflected as he walked. Andy had looked quite upset and Sirius had been acting off too. He hadn't really known what to do or say to make either of them feel better. Ted had done his best to comfort Andy but to no apparent effect. He whined, his stag equivalent of laughter. The poor sod was completely head over heels for the pure-blood witch. Andy wasn't like her sisters but he still didn't know if she'd go out with anyone who wasn't a pure-blood. Her parents would have heart attacks if their eldest child- their _heir_ \- went out with a… muggleborn. Either way, the situation with Ted didn't really matter. It wasn't what was bothering his two friends. Whatever it was, it was probably a family thing considering they were both upset.

A sniffling sound came from ahead of him and his ears pinned back against his head. Who… or what was making that noise? He heard it again and this time he knew where it was coming from. Directly ahead. It sounded like someone was crying. Who though? James' curiosity piqued and he ambled towards the source of the noise, taking great care not to be heard.

At last he found who was making the sound- three girls, (one crying) were sat in a candle lit clearing. On evenings, some people would come and have picnics here. There was more than one clearing like this and they were usually used for dates but he visited them often to hang out with friends. "Cissy," A gentle voice met his ears and his tail flicked in surprise. It was Andy.

"Andy," This voice was smooth and rich but James could detect a rough undertone. "Let her cry a minute." Bella- Andy's sister. And Cissy was the one who was crying. But why? Was this what had been up with Andy and Sirius? He stood still, hoping his hoofs wouldn't shuffle and make any noise. He wanted to know what was going on.

"I don't want to," Came a soft whimper after a lengthy moment had passed. Cissy. He stopped himself from stomping his back foot. He knew he was being impatient but _why_ were they being so vague?

"Cissy-" Andy tried again but was cut off by Cissy.

"It should have been you!" The blonde seemed shocked by her own outburst and began crying again. "It should have been you." This time it sounded weak. "Just go." To James' surprise Andy stood up and disappeared into the trees. She never gave up so easily!

"Cissy," This time it was Bella. He listened harder, hoping he would get some insight from _this_ conversation. "It's not Andy's fault. If you're blaming her then you should be blaming me too- I'm the second oldest."

"Bella, I'm scared." James' heart broke slightly for the girl sitting on the tree stump. She looked so small and defeated.

"I know you are." He was surprised by the amount of compassion and gentleness in Bella's voice. She wasn't one to express that side. "I'd be too. But dad wouldn't let anyone hurt you. He wouldn't give you away to anyone who wasn't respected or who wanted to do anything bad to you. You know that." Give her away? This _couldn't_ be what James was thinking.

"If he cared then he wouldn't be marrying me off in the first place!" James' staggered backwards slightly and whined in shock. The girls didn't notice- they were too preoccupied in their own matters. But the revelation had hit him like a slap to the face. Cissy was getting married?! How could she? She was only fifteen- sure she was turning sixteen next month but she needed to finish school!

"Cissy-"

"No! I don't care! You don't understand, neither of you do! Just go!" Narcissa's sobs shook her body but as Bella hesitated to move she managed to croak out another dismissal. This time her sister complied. James watched as Bella disappeared in the trees- the same place he had lost sight of Andy and deliberated whether he should make himself known or not. The answer became clear as sob after sob met his ears. He had to comfort her somehow! He traipsed towards her and she saw him the moment he entered the clearing. She watched him with wide eyes and he could tell that she was unsure as to whether she should sit still or run away. He didn't want to startle her but needed to act more like a stag than a human so he kept walking. He cocked his head to the side as if he was analysing her when he got closer- being careful not to take out her eyes with his antlers. Cissy sat completely still, not daring to breathe. He sat down directly in front of her, folding his legs underneath his middle. She stared for a moment and then seemed to gain some confidence, reaching out to touch his head. After seeing he didn't react, she stood up and sat next to him on the grass and slowly… _very slowly_ , leaned against his side. He didn't dare to turn his head- she was too close. She'd definitely get hit by his antlers. He kept still, trying not to jump or make a sound whenever he felt her hiccup into his side, until he felt nothing else but her breaths. She was sleeping. He closed his eyes, knowing she wasn't going to wake up till the next morning.

* * *

 **This was my first one-shot/drabble! I came up with the prompt and thought it was pretty interesting so I wanted to try it :)**

 **I paid special attention to the lyrics:** ** _"It's crazy what you do for a friend,"/_** ** _"_** ** _Go ahead and cry little girl,"/_** ** _"I know how much it matters to you, I know that you got daddy issues,"/_** ** _"_** ** _And if you were my little girl, I'd do whatever I could do, I'd run away and hide with you,"_**

 **I've always wanted to see everyone knowing each other and the differences only beginning to show once they were in their final years.  
** **I also made all of their ages similar so it would all work :)  
** **And I've always liked the idea that the Forbidden Forest wasn't forbidden until after the first wizarding war, for some reason :)**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Shoes (Draco & Luna)

**AN: If any of you guys have any suggestions for any character(s) or pairings you want to see then let me know through reviews or PM :)**

Shoes (Draco/Luna)

The first time she met Draco Malfoy, he was angrily muttering, "wingardium leviosa," at an object she couldn't see. As she neared him she saw that they were her shoes. She greeted him and laughed when he nearly jumped out of his skin. His scowl showed that he was not similarly amused. She asked him why he was trying to make her shoes float and he had told her he was practicing for charms. She had smiled and asked if he wanted her to help him. He rejected her offer.

* * *

The first time he met Luna Lovegood- _properly_ met her- was in the transfiguration corridor. He was trying to hide her shoes when she appeared out of nowhere and surprised him with a greeting. Anybody else would have been inherently suspicious but she simply asked what he was trying to do. He lied easily, some spiel about practicing for charms. She offered to help him with the subject and he declined, trying not to laugh at the fact the dreamy blonde accepted his fib so easily.

The last time he met Luna Lovegood was before the 'Battle of Hogwarts'. He kissed her on the cheek before joining his house and following them down to the dungeons. As they neared them Draco separated himself from the group and went to fight.

He stood just in front of her as the Dark Lord addressed the crowd of students that concealed his hand in hers. His mother called for him and he squeezed the blonde's hand before letting go and joining the group that stood opposite him. As he took his place next to his parents he looked at her one last time. She was looking right back at him. He thought she knew, as well as he did, that their hidden relationship was finished. His time at school was over. He understood that there and then. Without school there was no cover for his improper relationship with the eccentric waif. He blinked and dragged his eyes away from her, ignoring the sinking feeling in his core, focusing instead on the words of the Dark Lord. The one he would serve. A childish game of hiding from his parents was done. It was time for the real world.

* * *

 **Edit: Thanks for the correction Barky :) I wouldn't have noticed otherwise XD**


	10. Money (Narcissa Malfoy)

**Another dare! :)**

Money (Narcissa Malfoy)

Narcissa stared at herself in the mirror, making a face at the clothes she was wearing. They were plain and were made from a cloth rougher than the fine silk she was used to. The house-elves had made them at home, their knobbly fingers painstakingly cutting, folding and sewing the clothes. She had looked on with a straight face. She would have thanked them for their efforts had it not been so utterly embarrassing that she had to get her house-elves to make her clothes. At least _she_ wasn't sewing any clothes. Yet.

* * *

After Lucius had been arrested once the war had ended, Narcissa spent hours and considerable amounts of money trying to get him out. She had been led on to believe that if she managed to get a new trial for her husband, there was a chance he could get out of Azkaban. So she had worked tirelessly to convince anybody who still wanted anything to do with the Malfoys to help her get a new trial for Lucius. She had even paid some people. Then came the trial itself. She paid the best people she could find to represent her husband- the cost didn't matter. The Malfoy vault was legendary for its 'never ending' piles of gold. She paid for each hour they had to work and their accommodation- the trial had lasted two months.

The verdict was guilty.

* * *

Later on in the year, after Lucius had spent six more months in prison, Narcissa went to Gringotts. The ride down to the vault was silent, the wind from the speed blowing hair into her mouth. The goblin stopped the cart and led her to the large vault that held the Malfoy fortune. The door opened and she looked around in shock. Where there should have been _hills_ of gold, were four mere piles that went up to her knees. "How much money did you wish to take out?" A croaky voice from behind her startled her out of her thoughts.

"W-where did all the money go?" She asked. Ignoring what the goblin had just asked.

The goblin in question frowned at her and walked over to the far wall, pressing his palm against it. She watched, fascinated as it opened and revealed scroll upon scroll of parchment. The goblin pulled one out and passed it to her. On it were what seemed to be her recent buys. She remembered the new dress, the new leather armchair and the portrait upkeep. But she didn't remember the vast amounts of alcohol and buying a _manor._ "I think there has been a mistake." She said, turning to the scowling goblin. He took the parchment from her hands and she tried not to cringe at the closeness of the wrinkly creature.

"I will be back in a moment." It said, leaving Narcissa alone with... well barely anything.

It was Draco. He had bought the manor and all the alcohol. He had told her that he had gotten a job. That he was managing. He hadn't told her that he had moved out of his apartment and that he was drinking so much. She couldn't believe he had spent so much money.

However, she didn't have the heart to confront him. He had been through so much already because of her and Lucius.

* * *

So she had let it carry on. Watched her money dwindle until she had been forced to work herself. She kept the fabric that she didn't sell, for herself and got the house-elves to sew it. Tailors cost too much.


	11. The Best Man's Speech (Sirius Black)

**Another dare :)**

 **Dare:** **Write Sirius Black's best man speech on James' marriage. (Pre-written texts not acceptable)**

The Best Man's Speech (Sirius Black)

"Sit down, sit down!" Sirius demanded the moment Peter finished his speech. Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head at him. He was the best man! His speech was the one that was the most anticipated! Peter was just making everybody wait longer than they had to. "Okay, okay. Everybody pipe down!" He looked down to where James was sat by his side and could see he was supressing his laughter.

"I am Sirius Black! The best man for James Potter!" He announced. Everybody had quietened down and were looking at him unblinkingly. It almost made him uncomfortable. "I have known James for a very long time. We were best friends in school and continued to be after it. I have to say, nobody ever caught James' attention like I did." The crowd let out a hearty laugh and Sirius bowed, making James and Remus snort. After a moment the guests had their full attention back on him. "Well, apart from Lily of course." A chorused _awww_ went up and Sirius smirked at Lily's blush. She was almost as red as her hair. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a better match! I remember when you used to take her out for walks. The _moonlight_ shining on you both." He carried on despite wanting to laugh at James' shocked face. He knew he had caught the reference. Peter and Remus looked like they had too, if Peter's open mouth was anything to go by.

"I remember how James tried to show off in Care of Magical Creatures so Lily would be impressed. He was digging and nearly screamed when he shovelled up a huge _worm._ Its _tail_ was wriggling and everything." Remus had his face in his hands but Sirius could see his shoulders shaking with laughter. Peter was trying to conceal his grin but was failing and James was trying to do everything in his power to avoid Lily's inquisitive gaze.

"Oh and there was one time he got distracted when Lily walked into the great hall. He dropped his knife on his foot! He had to wear a cotton wool _pad_ on his _foot_ for the next week. We wouldn't stop teasing him about it. Lily, of course, was clueless as to how her mere presence affected dear James." James was as red as Lily now.

"All in all, I think their relationship has aged well. Like antlers on a stag-"

"How drunk are you?" Came a shout from the back of the room and the crowd sniggered.

"Not drunk enough!" He shouted back. "Anyway, your futures are before the two of you. All ready for you to map it out." He smiled and raised his glass. "To James and Lily," he shouted, "who found each other's hearts to maraud!" He sat back down and yelled as three well-aimed kicks hit him. It was drowned out by the roar of the guests.


	12. The Warehouse (Vernon & Dolores)

**Another dare :)**

 **Dare; write a very fluffy drabble between two characters you hate**

The Warehouse (Vernon/Dolores)

"Vernon? Vernon dear?" Dolores called out. Her voice echoed around the empty warehouse ominously. She knew he had come in here but she couldn't find him. The darkness of the alleyway he had left her in had become all-encompassing and she had come inside the warehouse to find him. However, the darkness inside almost seemed to rival the darkness outside. Where was he? He had promised a surprise but now all she wanted to do was go home. She was about to move further into the warehouse when she heard a shuffling sound, and had to stifle a scream.

"Dolly, dear? I asked you to wait outside." Vernon looked disappointed and Dolores almost felt bad- until she remembered the dingy alleyway again.

"Sorry Vernon, it was just so dark outside... and- and I got scared." The admission made her blush, she must have seemed so pathetic. Instead of laughing like she had expected him to, Vernon wrapped his arms around her, his thick moustache tickling her neck.

" _I'm_ sorry dear. I should have known."

* * *

 **Excuse me whilst I throw up**


	13. Hermit (Regulus Black)

**AN: For the Regulus Black appreciation week challenge by hillstar :)**

Hermit (Regulus Black)

"Reggie! Stop being a hermit and get outside!" Regulus rolled his eyes at Narcissa's whining. For the past ten minutes she had been trying to make him leave his room to spend time with his cousins and brother. They saw enough of each other at home, in his opinion. They were on holiday, if he wanted to read then he would.

Usually, his holidays consisted of formal balls and family dinners. It was all rather forced. However these holidays were different. His family had decided to stay at a manor in Scotland. He had his own room, there were no balls being held, and dinner was a casual affair.

Today, he had planned on catching up on his reading. Narcissa seemed to have a different idea, if her barging into his room at two in the afternoon was any indication.

"Cissy, I'm trying to read." He tried his best to sound weary but he was dangerously close to laughing at her angry face.

"Does it look like I care? Me, Siri, Bella and Andy have been waiting outside for ages. We want to go exploring!" Regulus rolled his eyes again and yelped when Narcissa smacked his shoulder. "Get up, we're going!"

"What is there to explore? Nothing." Surprisingly, Narcissa did not huff or stomp or shout. She smirked.

"At the back of this manor there's a field. Once that ends, there's a forest. We're planning on going there. You could add some things to your book. You're always making notes in there about animals and plants." Regulus looked at Narcissa's smug face and scowled. She was right. He had brought his book with him so he could make notes on any differences in species at home and in Scotland.

Five minutes later, Regulus was outside with his brother and cousins. They were about to set off for the forest when Sirius nudged Bella. "Told you it would work." He was tempted to go right back to his room but the opportunity of adding more to his book was too great to miss. He settled with glowering at his brother. Sirius only laughed.

* * *

 **I made an unintentional Panic! At the Disco reference when I wrote 'casual affair'. I'm so proud of myself XD**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**


	14. Survived (Lavender Brown)

**AN: This is for the Character Appreciation Challenge by hillstar**

 **Harry Potter Prompts!**

 **Song: Headfirst for Halos by My Chemical Romance  
Character(s): Lavender Brown**

 **Warning: There's drug abuse and suicidal thoughts in this chapter.**

Survived (Lavender Brown)

Lavender rolled the red pill around in her palm. With her other hand she wiped the wetness from her cheeks. Her entire focus was on the tiny capsule. She let out a bitter laugh. She had survived! She had survived being attacked by a Werewolf—the 'Wizarding War'.

* * *

When she had gotten out of hospital, Parvati was waiting for her. "Where's Padma?" Lavender had asked— _stupidly_ asked.

Parvati clenched her jaw and opened her mouth, "Dead." The news hit Lavender like a bludger and she stumbled a little. She hadn't realised she had done that until she felt Parvati's strong hands grip her arm. Looking at her friend's face, she saw no emotion. It betrayed none of the turmoil that Lavender was feeling, none of the turmoil of losing another half. She must have learned to lock it away. Lavender wished that she could do the same. She had known that once she left hospital, things wouldn't be the same. She had prepared herself, in the ward for those twenty-four hours. But nothing could have readied her for this news. "Come on." Parvati whispered, "Let's go home."

But home wasn't home anymore. Her father fussed over her and sent her straight to bed to rest but he couldn't meet her eyes. When she had been tucked in she looked up at the drained face of Parvati and the harried face of her father. "Where's mum?" Her dad met her eyes for the first time, fear clearly shown in his.

He closed his eyes and choked out, "Dead." That was when she stopped breathing. Her throat felt tight, it was as if someone was gripping her throat and squeezing, trying to crush her trachea.

"Lav? Lav breathe!" Parvati's voice pierced through the dull throbbing in her ears but it only served to remind her of the loss of Padma. Then her hazy vision finally dimmed, and all was dark.

She had been sent back to the hospital, returning back to her father once the healers deemed her capable of dealing with her grief.

* * *

Her father was ill. The healers said it was a dark curse. Whilst fighting in the war he had been struck with a slow-acting curse. They didn't know how to fix it.

Lavender sat at her father's funeral. People were around her but she couldn't recall ever feeling this empty, this alone. She hadn't noticed the tears running down her cheeks but the drops of water on her dress were evidence that she had been crying. She hadn't felt it. A shuffling from someone stood in front of her shattered her focus on the dark stains on her dress. Ron. His blue eyes were filled with empathy and she absorbed the image as her face buried into to his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her.

* * *

Ron had made her happy, once upon a time. Now, she wasn't sure if anything could. The man in Knockturn Alley had told her, "The red ones make you fly and the blue ones help you fall." Flying sounded good. Actually flying would not bring her any joy, she knew that. But perhaps the tablet contained the euphoria people felt whilst flying. At least, that was what the man had implied. She dropped the pill onto the table and it skittered before finally settling. The sudden noise in the quiet—empty—house rang in her ears. She looked at her wand. Perhaps that was the easy way out. She had never heard of somebody casting the Killing Curse on themselves, but perhaps a well-aimed _Bombarda_ would do the job. She could see it: A person coming in to check on her, check that she was still breathing. The fragments of her skull would fall from the ceiling; they'd fall down like pixie dust— _think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts_ , a voice in her head was repeating. It was what something her father had told her. She wanted it to make her feel better, but the sound of his words in her brain, in her voice, was just too alien. Just like the situation she was in. She couldn't take it anymore.


	15. Find Him (Dean & Seamus)

**AN: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I am simply borrowing it for a fic. Enjoy!**

 **This is for the Character Appreciation challenge made by hillstar :)  
** **This week's character was Dean Thomas!**

 **I moved this from being its own one shot into this drabble collection :)**

Find Him (Dean & Seamus)

Dean looked down to where he could see Professor McGonagall leading a group of students. They looked tiny from the window he was stood in, but he knew, without a doubt, that one of them was his best friend. Squinting, Dean tried to pick out which one of the students was Seamus. He found him straight away, breaking off from the main group with Neville, his hands and arms making dramatic gestures that Dean knew all too well. Explosions. Death eaters were right outside the school and Seamus was talking about explosions! He snorted, some things never changed. Perhaps his friend's affinity for pyrotechnics would come in handy, for once. He looked until he finally lost sight of the two boys and then focused his attention to what else was going on outside. There were people everywhere and Dean knew that there were a lot more in the castle. He shuddered. He was almost certain that he would come face to face with a death eater today. The puppets of Voldemort. Tales of their horrific punishments and secret curses had not escaped his notice and he had to admit it, he was afraid. A wave of dread washed over him as he realised, his best friend had gone somewhere with only one other person for defence. Seamus was in danger. He had to find him.

Dean raced down the steps, trying to get outside as quickly as possible. He had been alone in the small corridor he had just vacated and the crush of students and teachers… _fighters_ \- surprised him. Despite the amount of people, there was a surprisingly small amount of noise and Dean's urge to call Seamus' name sat itself down. It just felt too sombre to shout. It all felt _wrong_.

* * *

"Dean!" Seamus called, over the hustle and bustle of The Three Broomsticks.

"What mate?" Dean asked, struggling to reach his friend through the crowd of customers. He winced as someone stood on his foot, but didn't bother to make a fuss. There was no point.

"Do you want a butterbeer or water?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"What do you think?" He called, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Water it is!"

"Seamus!"

"I know, I know. I was joking!" Seamus put his hands up in surrender as Dean finally managed to get to him.

"Then order me my butterbeer, I know you didn't change the order." Seamus opened his mouth in protest but thought better of it when he saw Dean's raised eyebrow.

Moments later, they were both sat at a table discussing the upcoming match against Ravenclaw. "I think we'll win." Seamus said confidently, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"So do I, but their seeker is a good player. In the last match against Hufflepuff she pulled off the Wronski Feint almost- almost flawlessly. Diggory went straight into the grass-"

"And the hospital wing." Seamus interrupted with a laugh.

"I was about to hex her when she almost tricked Harry into doing the same thing- he didn't fall for it though." He still felt the relief at Harry's quick reflexes as intensely as if he was still playing in the match.

"Oh she was spared from your wrath!" Seamus said dramatically, his hand on his forehead, fingers splayed, in exaggerated relief. He yelled as Dean's foot connected with his shin and pouted. Dean couldn't help himself and burst out laughing and Seamus quickly dropped the pout and joined in.

* * *

Good memories assaulted Dean's mind, the sharp contrast between them and where he was now, reminding him he was in the middle of a war. His friends were out there. And there was a chance he could never experience those good memories again. He knew that Seamus was out there, and he wasn't safe. He just didn't know exactly where he was.

He managed to break through the tense crowd of people and exited the castle, finding himself in another tense atmosphere, although this time he wasn't stuck in a crowd. Everyone seemed to be busy with one thing or another, knowing exactly what to do. Dean knew he should have been in the castle, guarding a corridor but he also knew that if anything happened to Seamus he would never be able to forgive himself.

He had reached the point where he had last seen his friend when a loud crash sounded, echoing through the courtyard. Only one thought was going through his mind as he ran towards the source. Seamus.

Upon arrival, the first thing he saw was the broken bridge. And no Seamus. Then suddenly, he spotted a blur from the corner of his eye, heading straight towards him. "Dean run!" His relief at finding his best friend was cut short as a green flash from behind him gave the explanation for his order. It had already begun.

Seamus quickly caught up to Dean and they kept running, the warmth of the evening threatening to slow them down. They kept going, despite the humidity, zigzagging occasionally to confuse whoever was throwing hexes at them. As they neared the castle a blinding blue flash caused Dean to trip, Seamus took his arm and dragged him as he regained his footing, and he realised it was the protective shield that had been cast around the school. It was shattering. "We need to get inside the school!" He yelled, the previously sombre atmosphere of the castle and grounds had been replaced with a cacophony of noises: screams, orders, and reassurances. The panic was palpable and it threatened to overtake him but he kept on running. He had to keep running. They would be of no use to the battle if they were out of breath from their sprint.

* * *

"Fucking hell, I've cut my leg." Seamus muttered. They were sitting in the great hall. People were hurrying in and out and they knew that the fighting had begun. Dean looked at the leg his best friend had elevated on a bench. There was a large gash running from his ankle to just below his knee and it was bleeding. A lot. He knew that Madame Pomfrey would be busy; moments ago a fourth year had run in asking for her help and she hadn't come back since then. However, Dean knew that it had to be healed somehow, and soon. The fighting was bound to move into the castle, the courtyard was too small for the fight to be contained there.

"Seamus," He said slowly, still thinking about the idea he was going to propose. "I think I can heal it-"

"You can? Then do it, quickly!" Seamus sounded hopeful but Dean knew it was going to take a while for him to heal a cut that large. He wasn't Madame Pomfrey.

"I can't do it quickly, that's the thing. I'm going to need us to go upstairs because I'm pretty sure the fighting is going to move here." Seamus stood up straight away, wincing a little but putting on a brave face. Dean couldn't wrap his head around how well his friend was dealing with having a massive cut on his leg.

"Lead the way." He said brightly.

When they got to the stairs, they realised that getting up them was going to be a difficulty. "Lean on me, Seamus. We need to get up here as quickly as we can."

After two steps it was clear they had to think of something else. Suddenly, Seamus started laughing. Was he hysterical? "We're so stupid." He said, taking a deep breath to stop himself from laughing. "Mobilicorpus." He said when Dean still didn't know what he was talking about. Dean snorted and pulled out his wand.

They reached the top of the stairs and Dean led the way to a small corridor. Seamus sat down and rolled his trouser legs up, and said, "Quickly, we need to fight."

Dean nodded and cast aguamenti, trying to clean the wound. Once it was clean, he took three vials out of his pockets. Just before they had left the great hall, Dean had taken some potions Madame Pomfrey had left behind in her kit. One, he handed to Seamus- blood replenisher- and he swallowed it quickly, shuddering at the bitter aftertaste. The second one, he opened and poured onto Seamus' leg. His friend let out a yelp but smothered it, biting his tongue. "Warn me next time." He muttered and grit his teeth as he watched his muscles knitting themselves back together.

"It's done now." Dean said after a minute had passed and Seamus unclenched his fists and let out a breath.

"Thanks mate," He said, admiring his healed leg, and putting out his hand to accept the third vial. Pain relief.

"You're healed but take the pain relief just in case it starts to hurt whilst you're fighting." The two of them stood up and Seamus cleared his throat. He knew what he was going to say. He had just healed his best friend, and now they were going to go straight back into the danger. He squared his shoulders and looked at his best friend, failing to keep a thought out of his mind: _This could be the last time you see each other._

"Ready?"

"Ready."


	16. Failure in the Vineyard (Tonks & Fleur)

**AN: Pairing Drabble Challenge/Game on Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges by alyssialui.**

 **Pairing: Tonks/Fleur  
Prompt: Grape**

Failure in the Vineyard (Tonks/Fleur)

They were failing at their task. The Order had given the two of them a mission to go abroad and uncover who was recruiting creatures and Death Eaters. The group had noticed that a lot of the arrests they had made had been Death Eater's that were from France.

Fleur had put herself forward to go the moment it had been proposed, and Tonks had wanted to go to France since she was little, so of course she had volunteered.

Now, they were following a lead—or more precisely _had_ followed. The cloaked male they had been following had disappeared inside the vineyard they were currently in.

"Where could he have gone?" Tonks asked in a quiet voice.

Fleur shrugged. "I 'ave no idea."

A rustling sound from the other side of the vineyard made the two women duck... and bump heads. Tonks bit her lip to stop herself from making a noise but Fleur couldn't contain the groan that escaped her lips.

"Are you alright?" Tonks whispered. Fleur took her head out of her hands and Tonks gasped at the bump on her head.

"What is it?" Fleur asked.

"You have... a little bump." She felt terrible.

"That is all?" Fleur asked. When Tonks nodded she said, "Then let's go, before ve lose this man again."

The two of them stood up, slightly crouched, and began making their way over to where they thought they had heard the noise. They had only been walking for a few seconds when Fleur stumbled. Tonks caught her. "Fleur?" she whispered.

"It... is al...right." Fleur pushed out. It really wasn't.

Fleur had been travel sick and hadn't eaten breakfast in the morning either. Tonks was used to skipping meals, but for Fleur, who had been spending a lot of time at the Weasley's... And now, combined with their collision, it was no wonder she was feeling light-headed.

Tonks looked around for... well, for anything that could be of help. She was only surrounded by grapes. Then came the idea. She remembered reading about it a while ago and hoped that it would work. It wasn't the exact same situation but it was similar. Turning to the nearest vine, she pulled off a handful of grapes.

"Open wide." she instructed with a nervous smile. Tonks wished she could use magic, but the Order had been very clear that any form of magic could easily be traced right back to them. When Fleur didn't cooperate she said, "I read that they help with migraines—it won't hurt to just try a few."

Fleur seemed to think the idea had some legitimacy because she opened her mouth and allowed Tonks to feed her. Fleur did seem to become stronger as she ate more but it may have just been the recovery time she had.

After the last grape, Tonks moved behind Fleur and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. The head massage seemed to be helping as Fleur sighed happily and leant back so her head was in Tonks' lap. They remained there for a while, Tonks threading her fingers through Fleur's hair and Fleur rubbing Tonks' back.


	17. Amortentia (Draco & Blaise)

**AN: Written for the Pairing Drabble Tag on Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges :)**

 **Pairing: Draco/Blaise**  
 **Prompt: "It's not what it looks like."**

Amortentia (Draco/Blaise)

They had been brewing Amortentia.

Draco was working alongside Blaise and had finished before him, carefully pouring his potion into a vial and stoppering it before anyone damaged it. When he got back from Professor Slughorn's desk, he saw that Blaise still hadn't finished. So he decided to help him. But just as he went to stand by his friend, he saw a spiral of steam rise from his cauldron.

"What can you smell?" Draco asked.

Blaise blushed. "I can smell lemon and..." Then his face dropped. What could he smell? "Mango and cherry shampoo..." Draco pretended he hadn't realised who Blaise was referring to, but the moment the class ended, Draco ran down to the Slytherin common room, made his way to the boys dormitory and straight to Theodore Nott's trunk.

He opened it and found what he was looking for straight away. The shampoo. Draco picked it up and opened the lid. He was about to smell it when he heard a gasp from the doorway. Blaise. "It's not what it looks like." What did it look like? He hoped it wasn't what he was thinking: a jealous young man, trying to figure out who the boy he liked, liked.

Blaise groaned. "I-I'm so sorry, Draco!" Why was he sorry? Oh Merlin, did he know? "I understand that you only want us to be friends but I can't help it that my potion smelled like you. It was out of my control!" Wait, of him? Then Blaise's words registered.

"You... like me?" Draco asked, slowly.

"Yes, but I know you don't like me back, don't worry. I respect that." Draco frowned slightly. Why did the Amortentia smell of Theo's shampoo then? Then it dawned on him. He had been using it for the past few days. His own shampoo had run out and Hogsmeade was a few days away. Blaise shuffled and Draco looked up, letting a grin make its way onto his face.

"Blaise?" Draco asked.

Blaise looked up. "What?"

"I like you too," he confessed in a quick voice and ran towards his friend before he could change his mind. Their lips met in a passionate kiss; Draco never wanted it to end.


	18. We Will Not Run (Barty Jr & Rabastan)

**AN: Written for the Pairing Drabble Tag!**

 **Pairing: Rabastan/Barty**  
 **Prompt: Manipulation**

We Will Not Run (Barty Jr./Rabastan)

Barty gulped as Rabastan stepped closer. He was trapped against the wall with nowhere to go. _Why was he looking for a way to escape?_ He was trapped in the other man's eyes, not daring to look away. The tip of Rabastan's wand forced his head to tilt up.

"We will not run away." he growled.

"B-but the Dark Lord is gone, Raba-"

"He isn't!" Barty flinched at the sudden loud noise. "And when he comes back, he'll find us. Those of us who waited for him will be rewarded." Barty couldn't help the tears that sprung to his eyes. He knew that Rabastan was only repeating the words of his brother and a life in Azkaban was the worst fate possible. "Don't worry so much." murmured Rabastan, and he lowered his head, catching Barty's lips with his own. "Besides," he whispered, "What would we ever do without each other?"

Despite not wanting to, Barty couldn't help but hear the logic in what Rabastan said whilst he was pushed against a wall and being kissed ferociously by the man he loved. The wizard knew how to get his way.


	19. Can I Cope? (James & Harry)

**AN: Written for the I Dare You Challenge!**

 **scrumptiousinternetllama: Of course! Your dare is to write a story where Harry, Ron, George and any other guy character you want to has to take care of the younger kids while the mothers go out; either at a spa, seeing a movie or whatever. Good luck! And if you need any prompts feel free to ask! XD.**

Can I Cope? (Harry & James)

"George, please grab her!" Harry yelled as Rose raced into the tower of building blocks, Hugo had been steadfastly stacking for the past few minutes.

George snorted as the tower came tumbling down. "It's a bit late for that, mate." Harry cursed under his breath and turned to help Hugo when Albus gasped.

"Daddy said a bad word!" he exclaimed, looking wide-eyed at Ron—probably for some sense of normalcy.

"He said, 'looking hag', Albus. Not a bad word." Ron said with a smile, playing the role of the good uncle, remarkably. However, the moment Albus turned around, Ron shot him an exasperated look. "I can't keep covering for you like this whenever we look after the kids. I'm running out of words that rhyme with your phrases."

Harry smiled apologetically. "Sorry, mate. But I'd probably have a lot more patience to spare if your brother helped out." He said with a pointed glare at George, who in return simply shrugged and continued reading through his magazine.

"Well I guess Hermione and Ginny deal with this whenever we go on Auror missions… If they can do it then we can." There was little conviction in Ron's voice.

Ginny, Hermione and Fleur had gone out for a day at a spa and had left him, Ron and George to look after the kids. Ron was doing an alright job, George wasn't helping at all and Harry just felt clueless about the entire thing. He'd never had to handle five children at once and it didn't help that they were all behaving differently than they usually did now that they were in each other's company.

Lily was asleep, thankfully. She had been running around and shrieking for the past hour and seemed to have finally worn herself out, collapsing in a heap on the sofa and promptly falling asleep. Rose, Albus and Hugo had been misbehaving just as much as Lily had. However, Hugo had just settled down to play with his building blocks. Rose had put an end to Harry's slight reprieve by knocking Hugo's tower over—now the boy looked as if he was about to cry. Please not crying; he wasn't sure he could deal with the extra noise.

James was… where was James? _Please don't let him be doing anything stupid,_ Harry thought, huffing out an exasperated breath. He'd better get looking.

He found his oldest son in the top floor of the house, sat on a windowsill with a book. He wasn't reading it; he was simply staring out of the window. Was there something wrong? He was about to clear his throat when his son spoke.

"Hi," James said, turning his face away from the window and towards him, his father.

Harry smiled. "What's up? We've been missing you downstairs."

James smiled but there was something sad there. "You were? I was having a nice read."

Harry frowned at the lie. "You were staring out of the window… Is there something wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong."

But Harry could tell his son was lying. " _James._ "

"Fine," said James with his arms raised in surrender. "I was just thinking about Hogwarts."

Hogwarts? But James was only nine. "What about Hogwarts?"

"Well, I'm going in a couple of years, aren't I?" Harry simply nodded, knowing the question was rhetorical. "I was just trying to see how it would feel to separate myself from you guys."

Harry laughed. "How did it go?"

"It was hard and I was only upstairs," James said with a sigh. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "How am I going to cope at Hogwarts for one term if I can't even go twenty minutes upstairs?" James looked genuinely troubled about the thought of going to Hogwarts.

Harry hopped up onto the windowsill beside James and let the back of his head fall against the window. "When you go to Hogwarts, you won't have any of your family in your school year—"

James cut him off with a groan. "You're really selling this to me, dad."

Harry laughed. " _But_ think about it. Neither did I. And where did I find my family?" And before James could answer he said, "At Hogwarts."

James nodded slowly, a hesitant smile creeping onto his face. "Thanks, dad."

"No problem," Harry said, standing up. "Now, let's go downstairs and see what everyone else is doing downstairs."

James snorted. "You're really struggling aren't you?"

Harry crossed his arms but couldn't keep the grin off of his face for long enough to deny James' statement. "Yes, we are," he admitted.

"Then let's go; they listen to me," said James with complete confidence. Harry, perplexed, followed his youngest son down the steps. Why did they listen to James and not him?


	20. His Bella (Regulus & Bellatrix)

**AN: Written for the Pairing Drabble Tag on the HPFC forum :)**

 **Pairing: Regulus/Bellatrix  
Prompt: Like a wind that's blowing, life is flowing.**

 **Warnings: As you can probably tell by the pairing, this does contain mentions of incest :)**

His Bella (Regulus/Bellatrix)

What does one do when they are faced with a madwoman? How does one act when they are commanded to serve the madwoman? Should one be jubilant at the prospect of furthering their knowledge of a diseased mind? Or should one be terrified?

"Regulus..." her voice was a hiss, a replica of the Dark Lord's that she so fanatically served.

"Yes, Bella?" he broke out of his internal musing, wanting to bite off his own tongue for using the endearment only Bella deserved—not this madwoman.

He remembered advice he had been given before, when he had been stuck in a position that was undesirable, but nowhere near as undesirable as the one he found himself in now.

"Let everything go... why must you meticulously plan everything, cousin? Just allow it to flow, see where you find yourself." That had been his Bella. She had been running her fingers through his hair beside the Black Lake... a time where the two of them had taken happiness for granted.

He had felt the breeze run across his face and smiled. "I'll try, Bella."

It was supposed to be wrong, what they had. A love like theirs? Cousins? Regulus could only laugh as he brushed the grass off the back of his legs and helped his black-haired beauty up. All those people acted as if they hadn't been bred from the same kind of relations. They became incredibly irate whenever the fact was pointed out.

The two of them, him and his Bella, made their way back up to the castle, hand in hand. He allowed the breeze to curl around him and carry him up to the school. He would listen to Bella's advice and allow life to flow.

But now, the cool breeze was a bitter cold air that nipped at his ankles in the rickety old house he found himself in. He looked at the woman before him: Black hair, wild curls, large, expressive eyes... but no love. There was no love for him anymore.

But what could he do?

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He would listen to his Bella and go with whatever the madwoman proposed.


	21. Frustration (Regulus & Lily)

**AN: Written for the Ten Pairings challenge!**

 **Regulus/Lily**

 **Club Imperio:**

 **Mojito: Set your story during the summer holidays. (Word) Mouthwash.**

Frustration (Regulus/Lily)

Regulus stumbled his way down the stairs of the House of Black. He was still half asleep but Kreacher insisted he should wake up, stating that he had let him sleep in for too long already. It was the summer holidays and his parents had left for Switzerland. They were meeting another dignitary that Regulus hadn't bothered to remember the name of.

Him and Sirius had had the house to themselves for the four days their parents had been gone. However, they were returning today—that meant Sirius was likely to be around a lot less. It was a shame.

Regulus focused on the taste of the mint mouthwash on his tongue, trying to distract himself from the painful lump in his throat. Sirius had been speaking to him properly for the first time in a _long_ time… Regulus wasn't sure if he was ready to give that up just yet. But he knew, regardless of whether he was ready or not, that Sirius would withdraw from his life once again, when his parents returned. He didn't understand why Sirius couldn't just put up with them. He had done exactly that for the first eleven years of his life. All he had to do was get through school and then he would be fine to go his own way—away from their parents if that was what he wished.

Entering the living room, Regulus found Sirius sprawled across the sofa, reading a magazine.

Sirius looked up from his reading material. "Hey, little brother."

Regulus rolled his eyes. Of course Sirius would greet him like that. "Hey… big brother. You look a little out of place," said Regulus, gesturing to the ancient material of the sofa. Sirius was wearing a leather jacket despite being indoors and was reading a magazine about Muggle bikes. Motorcycles.

Sirius snorted. "I _feel_ out of place," he said. "That's why I'm going to visit James to give him advice about Lil—about a girl." Sirius tried his best to cover his slip up but Regulus already knew that James Potter had taken a liking to Lily Evans. Regulus was surprised that Sirius seemed to care more about keeping it a secret than realising he was leaving Regulus alone on the last day they had together.

"I already know he likes Lily," Regulus said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to steady himself. I wouldn't do for him to get angry. But a vivid red flashed on the backs of his eyelids when he closed his eyes and when he exhaled it reminded him of _her_ soft sigh as he walked past her.

"You do?" asked Sirius, looking completely confused.

"I just said I did." He just about stopped himself from rolling his eyes at his brother. _She_ rolled her eyes a lot—especially at Potter's antics.

"Thank goodness for that," said Sirius with a relieved sigh. "Any advice?"

"Advice on wh—" Regulus cut himself off as he realised what his brother was asking. He couldn't be serious; he was asking for his advice on how to get Lily and James together? Actually, he could considering he didn't know that Regulus liked Lily. "I have no advice, sorry," he said with a shrug. He was lying. But why on earth did his brother think that he wanted to help the brother—and now potential girlfriend—stealing git?

Sirius groaned. "I have no idea either… Well I'd better be off. I don't want to be late. See you in a bit, Reggie." And with a wave, Sirius walked out of the room, leaving a seething Regulus behind. It was only when he heard the front door slam that he allowed his mental barrier to disintegrate, letting the tears of frustration flow down his face.


	22. Le Photographe (Colin & Gabrielle)

**AN: This fic was written for the Weekly Character Appreciation Week for Colin Creevey. It also used inspiration from the song Taro by alt-J, which is a song about two war photographers and was used as a prompt on 'Harry Potter Prompts!'**

 **I focused on the lyrics: "Left hand grasps what the body grasps not," "L** **e photographe est mort.** **" (The photographer is dead.) And "A** **live no longer my amour** **." (Alive no longer my love.)**

Le Photographe (Colin/Gabrielle)

She had come to visit Fleur in her holidays before… all of this. She had arrived only a one month before Pius Thicknesse had come into power and the travel in and out of the country had become a lot more dangerous. Originally, she had only planned to stay in the UK for two months, until her holidays were almost over. Then she would return to her parents for the final two weeks. The holidays at Beauxbatons occurred at different times and lengths than those at Hogwarts.

Once the puppet, Thicknesse, had made it clear whose side he was on, Fleur had been terrified.

"Gabrielle, you must leave the country," whispered her big sister.

"But how will I do that? Any means of travel is now tracked."

Fleur had bitten her bottom lip, a bad habit from her childhood that she had never quite let go of.

"We must find somewhere for you to hide… It is not safe out here, in the open."

And they had found a place for her to hide. Hogwarts. For what felt like an age she had been hiding in the castle, in the Room of Requirement with the rest of the students who wanted to avoid the wrath of the Carrows.

Colin had been wary of her at first, but she had been fascinated with his camera and soon, they had become fast friends. She remembered the day he had tugged her gently by her hand to his hammock; it was one of the lower ones, so it was easier for him to reach his things. From the hammock, he pulled out a tin box and opened it. Gabrielle grinned as she realised they were pictures that he had taken. She was in awe at the sheer amount of images he had captured over the years but nevertheless, with a nod of permission from Colin, she began digging through picture after picture.

There was Dennis enjoying an ice-cream by the sea.

"Who is that?" she asked, pointing to a tall woman with blonde hair.

"My mum," said Colin with a small smile.

Gabrielle grinned. "Your hair colour is the same."

When she came across a picture of a short male with curly hair, Gabrielle didn't need to ask who he was. He had an uncanny resemblance to Colin, and his little brother, Dennis; it was clear that he was the father of the two boys.

"When were these ones taken?" she asked. They all appeared to be taken at the beach and on the same day.

"We used to go to the beach every single summer when me and Dennis were on our holidays—the pictures were from when mum brought me my first camera. It was a disposable one but since I liked it so much, my mum and dad bought me a proper camera. Whenever we went to the beach after that, I'd take pictures. It was a kind of tradition. But this year we didn't go to the beach so I don't have any recent pictures."

"Why didn't you go this year?" she asked with a frown.

"We were busy with all the… Muggleborn registration stuff," he mumbled. Gabrielle clamped her lips together to stop her wince escaping. She shouldn't have been so insensitive about asking.

She nodded. "Are these pictures from those holidays or are they different?" she asked, gesturing to the picture she had in her hand; it was of a thick copse of trees.

Colin shook his head. "These pictures are from my first year here to now. That one is from the train window," he said with a small laugh. "That's why it's quite blurry."

"I'm shocked," she said. "I expected only the best quality from you, Mr Creevey." He looked at her for a moment as if trying to decipher whether she was being serious or not, before the pair of them dissolved into giggles.

After they had sobered up, she continued rummaging through the pictures, occasionally asking a question.

Some time had passed in silence when Gabrielle snorted. "Why are there so many pictures of Harry?" she asked.

Colin blushed. "I had a bit of an obsession with him," he answered, keeping his head down. "I remember I used to pester him all the time to take pictures."

Gabrielle laughed. "I must say, you chose the best person for your celebrity crush."

Colin snorted. "It definitely wasn't a crush."

After the immense amounts of Harry, blood-writing on a stone wall, a quidditch celebration party, and lots of images of dragons that she recognised from the Triwizard Tournament, she came across a picture of herself.

"This is a very good picture," she said. And it was. The drama of the scene had been perfectly captured. Her sister was half out of her seat and half in the towel that had been wrapped around her and Gabrielle herself was just above the surface of the water; she knew that Harry had followed directly after but in the moment Colin had captured, it looked as if she was floating in the middle of the water, alone. "You're a very good photographer."

Colin blushed. "Thanks."

* * *

Gabrielle screamed as a green jet of magic smashed the wall she was hiding behind. She would have worried that she had alerted her attacker to her presence, only, everybody was screaming—her cry simply melted into the mix.

Where was Colin?

She ran forward, casting the first hex she could think of in the direction of the Death Eater pursuing her. Then she tripped… then she screamed.

For she had not tripped over a bit of rubble, and looking down she saw exactly what she had tripped over. A body. She scrambled forward on her hands and knees to see who she had tripped over; perhaps she thought she could atone for the disrespect she had dealt to someone's dead body.

Time slowed and her breaths became shallow as she recognised the corpse as Colin. A cry rumbled deep within her stomach and exploded from her mouth. "Le photographe est mort!"

She sobbed as the grief of losing her bright friend hit her. A force that knocked the breath from her; it felt like it had knocked the life out of her. "Alive no longer my amour," she whimpered from between her sobs, smoothing his hair back. He must not have understood her broken English because his eyes did not open and he did not speak to tell her that she was wrong.

She felt a pair of hands move under her arms, lifting her up—away from the body of the boy she had grown to care about so much. And then it sunk in.

This would be the last time she would see his face, his blond, curly hair and the camera still clutched in his left hand.

"Gabrielle," said a voice she could not recognise. It was muffled and distorted; she couldn't focus on anything.

Then a blurred face appeared before her eyes, and she recognised that blonde hair… not Colin, Fleur? What was her sister doing here?

"Fleur?" she murmured. Then her sister's face became sharper, more defined. And the concerned look that she was giving Gabrielle was enough to make her burst into tears once more. Fleur drew her little sister closer and as Gabrielle sobbed into her shoulder she whispered the same thing over and over again.

"It will be okay."


	23. Parts to Play (Severus & Hermione)

**AN: Shelf #34 in The Restricted Section. Write Severus/Hermione.**

Parts to Play (Severus/Hermione)

Severus scowled as he entered the restricted section of the library. Of course Pince would tell him the material he was looking for was in the restricted section after he'd spent fifteen minutes of his time looking for it.

Bitter old hag.

She had done it on purpose, trying to get some sort of pathetic revenge. It wasn't even a dark book! Albus must have underestimated the students if he had thought that they couldn't handle a simple potions textbook. One only had to look at the Weasley twins to know they weren't shrinking violets. The book may have contained a couple of… more dangerous potions but the students wouldn't have even had access to the ingredients required to make them—hell, they didn't even have access to the library anymore.

Ever since Severus had become headmaster, students were only allowed to come into the library unless it was absolutely necessary. It didn't mean that Minerva, Filius, Rolanda or any of the other teachers listened to him. The fools. They only got their students into more detentions, meaning more risk of coming into contact with the Carrows. That had been the reason for banning extra-curricular activities and trips to the library in the first place! It was an attempt to keep the students out of the reach of the murderous siblings… perhaps he should let the ungrateful halfwits get caught by them. It would serve them right.

Severus ran his fingers along the shelf; over the weeks of disuse they had garnered a thick layer of dust. Finally, Severus stopped at a book—this was the one he was looking for. He didn't know why, but the Dark Lord had requested it; there didn't seem to be any material that would help him in any way.

He pulled the book from the shelf but just as he was opening it, a sharp pain shot up his arm. Severus clapped his hand over his mouth to prevent any noise coming out and bit out a pained, "Muffliato."

Then he let his screams out.

As the pain began to ebb away, Severus wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and, with shaking fingers, rolled up a sleeve of his robes. The unsightly mark on his arm writhed and twisted, a visual representation of the pain he had just been through—and a warning. He had to get moving if he didn't want to feel that again.

Apparating just outside the grounds of Malfoy Manor, Severus kept his head down and entered the large house, not stopping until he reached the ebony double doors that would open to reveal the Dark Lord—the inflictor of all this pain.

Severus took and deep breath and exhaled, relaxing himself and clearing his mind. Once he had done that, he pushed open the doors and entered.

The dimness of the room momentarily threw Severus off-kilter but his eyes quickly adjusted. What he saw both shocked and horrified him. Hermione Granger, her arms and legs bound to a wall—but her eyes were open. She was alive.

He was still observing her when she turned her head towards him. "S—Professor Snape?" Her voice was croaky but Severus was only grateful that she seemed coherent.

"Miss Gran—"

"Severus!" Severus spun around, already knowing who he would see.

He was right; there, in front of him, was Voldemort.

Hastily, Severus dropped on one knee and bowed his head. "My Lord, I came here to answer your summons."

"And you answered quickly, Severus," replied the Dark Lord. He paused for a moment before speaking again, "The reason for your summons was, as you may have guessed, this… _girl_ on the wall."

Severus remained silent, knowing that any interruption he made would be severely punished.

"She has refused to cooperate with any of Dolohov's… questioning. I would like you to try; if she does not cooperate then I will give you instructions as to what I want you to do next." Severus knew what those instructions would be—kill her. Or torture, then kill. The second option was likelier.

"Yes, my Lord," was all Severus said in response.

"Did you bring the book?"

"Yes, my Lord," he said, stretching out his arm to hand Voldemort the book.

"Good. Once I am back, I expect you will have extracted some information from the girl." And with that parting sentence, he left. Severus knew that there would be punishment, severe punishment, if he didn't get any information from the girl chained to the wall.

"Miss Granger," he started, speaking slowly. "You must cooperate with me."

He heard her sigh. "If your questions are anything like the brute's that was interrogating me before then I don't think I can, Professor."

Interrogated... what questioning techniques had Dolohov used? "Miss Granger," he repeated. "I need some information from you."

"Ask your questions and I shall see if I can answer." She sounded resigned.

"Did you say the same thing to Dolohov?" he asked.

She jumped at the question, rattling the chains. Clearly, she hadn't expected it. "No."

"Why?"

Hermione frowned. "I didn't want to."

Severus knew that she was lying. He also knew that she was lying to conceal the odd truth that she trusted him. It warmed his heart slightly to know that there was someone who still believed in him, but it didn't change the fact that she shouldn't trust him. "Why do you trust me?" he asked.

"I don't."

"You're lying," he stated simply.

"I am not," she ground out.

"I am not stupid, Miss Granger. Do not insult my intelligence by trying to lie to me." He knew that the slight tone of anger he had put into his voice had surprised her as she didn't answer straight away. That was when he muttered _Legilimens_ , and entered her unguarded mind. He found the information that the Dark Lord would want, and figured out which parts he was to hide from him so nobody would truly be endangered. Pulling back out of her mind, he saw her shocked face. He knew she felt betrayed. And he also knew that she trusted him for reasons she would never want him to know; but now she knew that he knew.

 _Good._ She shouldn't trust him; it was far too dangerous.

But as the image of her half full diary page flicked through his mind, he had to swallow down a measure of guilt. He had just invaded her privacy after all. With a wave of his wand, he loosened the chains wrapped around her and watched as she fell to the floor. "You are free to go, Miss Granger," he said, his face blank.

"Professor," she said, her voice pleading. She wanted some reassurance. She wasn't going to get any. The very walls in this place had ears.

"Leave, Miss Granger." It was for her own good.

"Where is the exit?" she asked, trying to sound collected. As if her teacher and interrogator had not just seen evidence of her attraction to him.

"You will find it."

He didn't turn as she walked past him and exited the room.

He only moved when he heard the door open once again, bending down on his knees and kissing the hem of the Dark Lord's robes. "I want you to combine two potions from the book you gave me, Severus; it will create a toxin."

"Yes, my Lord." Which potions were they?

"I trust you gained some useful information from the girl?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then stand, Severus. We will speak as you brew the toxin."

"Thank you, my Lord," he said, and stood up. He kept his face controlled.

Everyone had parts to play in this war. Severus played his very well.

Hermione Granger would not know how impressed he had been at her resistance to Dolohov's questioning. Nor would she know that his heart had not only warmed at finding out about her attraction to him, it had positively fluttered that someone could possibly desire him after everything he had done.


	24. Regret (Teddy & Victoire & Dominique)

**AN: Written for the Weekly Character Appreciation Challenge; this week was Teddy!**

 **Also written for the In 24 Hours Challenge and The Ultimate Diverse Threesome Pairing Challenge :)**

 **Trying my hand at next-gen, yet again XD**

Regret (Victoire/Teddy & Dominique/Teddy)

Teddy closed the book in front of him with a sigh. The regret he could feel churning in his stomach wasn't allowing him to concentrate on the story. Usually, in situations like these he would go out flying, and possibly have a game of quidditch. But it was raining outside so Gran wasn't going to let him step foot out of The Burrow, especially not to fly. She'd tell him that it was too dangerous, and that he would catch a cold, never mind the fact that he would be leaving a party as well. He would only be able to leave once the sun was shining and who knew how long that would take?

He had been upstairs for the past fifteen minutes, trying to distance himself from Victoire's birthday celebrations after what had happened during the dance… or dances, there had been loads.

He thought back to one in particular. There was fast music playing and the drinks had been flowing freely. He had felt someone's arms wrap around his face and had expected it to be Victoire. But when he turned around, to his horror, he found that it was Dominique.

She was clearly drunk.

He scrambled to get her arms off of him but she only held on tighter, grinning up at him. That was when he felt her rise up on her toes… and she kissed him. Time seemed to freeze for him; in that moment, he was terrified. His girlfriend's little sister was kissing him!

But… there was something else—a little tug in the bottom of his stomach and a fluttering sensation inside it. But surely that was only natural instinct? He had pushed her off of him as soon as he had realised what was happening and had made his way upstairs. He had to distance himself from her.

However, he knew that he had been away from the party for long enough. He had to return to the celebrations before anyone came looking for him.

Standing up and placing the book to one side, he looked in the mirror. He noted the slight change of shade in his hair colour from turquoise to blue; it was indicative of his guilt. A quick moment of concentration turned it bright pink with a red hue; it seemed mischievous and carefree. Nobody would guess what had just happened. It was time to go back downstairs.


	25. Safety (Arthur & Voldemort)

**AN: Written for the Pairings Randomizer Challenge.**

 **#6 Arthur Weasley #49 Voldemort**

Safety (Arthur/Voldemort)

Arthur was sweating; the stiff, rough sheets of the hospital bed were sticking to him. What had he just seen?

A tail. It was scaly, slithering over obsidian tiles… Was this a side effect of the antivenin? It could be, although there was another possibility whirling around the older Weasley's head.

Could it be that the snake's venom had gained control of some part of his mind? Or worse, had Voldemort learned how to access his mind?

His nights were full of fitful dreams, all of them featuring the snake. His days were full of trying to piece them together; he would lie for hours in his bed, barely registering the nurses and doctors entering and doing their check-ups.

Then one night, his dream was different. Usually, the dreams featured the snake and only the snake. This time, there were two pale feet walking alongside the creature. Arthur couldn't bring himself to be disgusted at the purple veins that were clearly visible in the skin for an almost overwhelming feeling of protectiveness washed over him. He didn't know whether it was from the owner of the feet towards the snake, or from the snake towards the owner of the feet.

As the nights went on it became apparent that the reason he felt the emotions so intensely was because he _was_ the snake. The theory was… disconcerting to say the least. Why would he be the snake and who did the feet belong to?

Despite the perplexity he felt, Arthur also couldn't help but crave the feeling of protectiveness that overtook him in his dreams. It was so strong that he felt an unreasonable desire to sleep even during the daylight hours. He wanted to feel safe and loved by whoever the feet belonged to.

When he was finally discharged from the hospital, he thought the dreams would stop.

As Molly fussed over him the entire day, he couldn't help but feel guilty about how he felt. But it was out of his control! He couldn't regulate what appeared in his dreams.

The dreams didn't stop… He woke up in the middle of the night next to Molly. He was sweating just as he had been that first night. He had heard something this time; a voice like a snake's hiss had said a name, "Nagini."

And that was when he realised just whose attention he had been so desperate for. He had heard that name coupled with the word "Attack" just before he had been rushed to the hospital.

The illusion did not shatter… The feeling of pure safety when he slipped into unconsciousness was intoxicating and he couldn't bring himself to hate it.

So as another evening passed, Arthur excused himself just earlier than everybody else to go to bed. And as the first wave of tiredness washed over him, he smiled. He was going to feel safe again.


	26. To Further Yourself (Tonks & Percy)

**AN: Written for the Ten Pairings Challenge and the Convince Me Competition!**

To Further Yourself (Tonks/Percy)

The first time Percy had seen Tonks, he was taking a break from studying at The Burrow.

He had been in his room all day and had come downstairs for a snack. His mother was fussing over him and insisting he ate something substantial—as if an apple wasn't substantial—when the door opened.

Charlie entered, looking wind-battered with a girl behind him. She had bright pink hair that was tied up in what was too messy to be called a ponytail and one of her ears had piercings running the length of it. His mother stopped speaking to smile at the newcomer and welcomed her into the home.

"Hi! You must be Charlie's mum," said the pink-haired girl with a warm smile. Turning to him she frowned. "I would say that you're… Fred or George?"

Percy's eyes widened. He must have looked a right state for her to think that he was either of his younger brothers. "No, I'm Percy," he said, managing to keep the stutter out of his voice but knowing he was blushing, fiercely.

"You are?" she exclaimed. "You looked too… relaxed to be the Percy that Charlie described."

He was about to defend his state of dress when Charlie cut in. "He's probably been studying all day. That's why he's still in his pyjamas," he said.

The girl with pink hair looked at him questioningly and he nodded in agreement. She smiled and said, "Well, we best be off upstairs so Charlie can grab his scarf before the Quidditch match starts."

Molly grinned as the two of them were exiting the room but just as the girl was about to pass through the door he asked, "What's your name?"

She turned around; the smile was still on her face. "Tonks."

* * *

Percy looked up from his work, only to be faced with none other than Nymphadora Tonks. He arched an eyebrow at her state of dress; she looked incredibly unprofessional. Things had never changed with her. She was always wearing that leather jacket and those combat boots with all of those piercings on display. And not once had she bothered to change her hair colour to anything other than outrageous. He could see that she was irritated, and he knew why. Her clothes had always meant to show how tough she was; the fact that he didn't look intimidated in the slightest must have annoyed her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm here to see Minister Fudge with some documents from the Auror department," she said.

"Do you have an appointment with the Minister?" he asked, knowing full well she didn't.

"No bu—"

He held in a sigh. "You still expect me to let you in?" he asked in disbelief. "If I did that then the Minister would have mountains of paperwork to read—not that he doesn't already," he added.

"These are important—"

But he cut her off again. "If they were that important then you should have made an appointment. I'm sorry but you'll have to leave and return once you have arranged to see the Minister."

He heard her huff and pretended he hadn't heard it. As he watched her turn away he tried desperately not to think of how brilliant he used to think she was, and he desperately tried not to think of the crush that had led to. He also tried not to think of the times that she had pulled him along on her adventures or of the feeling of her waist being held in his hands as he helped her up a tree. He repressed those 'good memories of fun times'. All they had been were reckless, stupid actions that, had they been done now, would have certainly damaged his reputation.

Nymphadora Tonks was not one to associate with; she spread irresponsibility like it was her job and Percy knew that to further himself in his career, he had to further himself from the pink-haired girl that had stolen his heart with all of her wild escapades.


	27. The New Customer (Kingsley & Rosmerta)

**AN: Written for Ash (Fire The Canon) for the Lots of Love Gift Giving Challenge :)**

 **Also written for the Convince Me Competition and the I Dare You Challenge!**

 **504 words minus the title and AN :)**

The New Customer (Kingsley/Rosmerta)

Rosmerta watched with a raised eyebrow as the customer walked in. He was dressed like a foreign prince, looking out of place in her small pub. She had taken over only a couple of weeks ago; the previous owners had decided to retire and live the rest of their days abroad. By now, she recognised who were regulars and who weren't—and this man clearly didn't frequent Hogsmeade, never mind her pub, often or even at all.

"Hello!" she said, greeting her guest with a smile. "Is there anything I could get you?"

He paused, looking like he was thinking deeply about what she had just said. "Could you get me a Butterbeer?" he asked, after a while.

She nodded and grinned. "Nothing stronger?"

"That'd be taking a risk since I need my wits about me; I'm from the Auror department in the Ministry. I'll take you up on that offer… next week?" he asked. His grin was matching hers.

"How about sooner?" she asked, sliding the Butterbeer she had been preparing towards him.

"How soon would that be, Miss…?"

"Rosmerta, and right after you're done with whatever mission you have tonight. I'll close later—just for you," she answered.

He nodded slowly. "I'm Kingsley, and I won't make you regret closing later," he said.

* * *

It was just past eleven when Kingsley entered the pub. It was empty, which was quite unusual to see; there was always a steady noise of mingling conversation, but now it was quiet. The customers had not known about Rosmerta extending the closing time and had left as they usually did.

The noise of the door opening was loud in the silence of the pub and Rosmerta sat up straighter, smiling at Kingsley as he entered.

"Hi, Kingsley," she said.

"Hello, Rosmerta," he said, mimicking her formal greeting. "It's nice to see that you actually did stay open."

"I wouldn't lie," she said. "How was your mission?"

A tense expression flitted across his face. "I found out some things," he answered. "It went well in terms of the information I managed to find."

"Sounds like you've had a busy day," she said with a smile. "Need that strong drink now?"

"It's like you read my mind."

* * *

"Ros?"

Rosmerta spun around at the voice; he was meant to be in London! "Kingsley?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you doing up here?"

Kingsley laughed. "Nice to see you too!"

"You've just won the bloody election, Shacklebolt," she said with a small chuckle. "Forgive me for being surprised."

"Now, who would be better to share the good news with?" he asked, his features twisting into mock confusion.

"Absolutely nobody," she said, stepping around the counter and wrapping her arms around him. "Although I must admit, I'm quite surprised that you're not finding somebody else, being the fancy Minister for Magic that you are," she said.

He took the bait. "Now why on earth would that make a difference?" he asked, and before she could answer, he pressed his lips to hers.


	28. Thank You (Hermione & Cho)

**AN: Written for the Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge!**

Thank You (Cho/Hermione)

"Hermione!"

Hermione spun around at the sound of her name being called to see none other than Cho Chang.

 _Why was she calling her?_

The girl caught up to her quickly, a little breathless from fighting the winter elements. Now that she was in front of Hermione, she seemed to have nothing to say.

"Cho?" she prompted.

The black-haired girl jumped."I—uh." She took a deep breath, exhaling a small cloud. "I just wanted to say thanks," she said.

"What for?" asked Hermione, confused.

"I—well, I was in Gryffindor Tower last night with Lavender and when I was coming down the stairs from the dorms I heard you talking to Harry—and you telling Ron he had the emotional range of a teaspoon," she added with a laugh.

Hermione smiled, glad that Cho wasn't upset about it. "I was just trying to explain what you were going through; there's no need to thank me."

"It was nice to hear that someone understood how I felt," said Cho. She took a step forward, wearing a tentative smile. "So thank you for that," she said. And with that she pressed a chaste kiss on Hermione's cheek.

"Are—are you sure?" asked Hermione, knowing that the girl stood opposite her must have been experiencing a whirlwind of emotions.

When Cho nodded, Hermione wrapped her arms around her and caught her lips with her own. Despite the winter weather, they both felt thoroughly warmed through by the time they were done.


	29. As Expected (Druella & Walburga)

**AN: Written for the Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge and the Locked Character Challenge!**

 **The Emotions Challenge - Shocked**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Cards Challenge: 500 words**

 **It's my first time writing Riddle Era and I've come up with so many headcanons for these two in such a small amount of time XD**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

As Expected (Druella/Walburga)

The first time Druella went to meet Walburga, she expected the 'playdate' to go as they always did—dolls and playing in silence so as not to disturb the adults.

Walburga's mother took a box of toys from a shelf. "You girls try not to make too much mess," she said and left the room.

The moment the door clicked close, Walburga stood. "Do you want to go into the garden? Playing with dolls is boring," she said.

Druella's eyes widened in surprise. How unexpected.

* * *

It was snowing in the Hogsmeade, and though neither of them knew the other was doing it, the two girls admired the way the snowflakes rested in each other's hair.

 _You look like an ice queen with your crown of snow._ Words thought but not spoken for they were too _feeling_ in a time they weren't supposed to express emotion. They knew that their marriages were being arranged for when they left school and possible suitors were probably being decided this instant.

* * *

In their final year, Druella pulled Walburga down to the quidditch pitch.

"What happened?" she asked. After all, she had been shaken awake and pulled outside after curfew.

"You remember how I was asking Cygnus about his broomstick?"

Walburga nodded, trying not to scowl at the mention of her brother's name. He was betrothed to Druella.

"Well, he didn't realise that I was only asking so I could find where he put it," finished Druella, grinning.

Walburga's looked with wide eyes at the broomstick Druella was clutching. "Dru, you don't mean to tell me that broomstick is Cygnus'?"

"It is! I've always wanted to fly under the night sky but mother and father refused to buy me a broom because flying is 'unbecoming of a young lady'," she answered, rolling her eyes.

They both spent the night flying under the stars.

* * *

Druella had attempted to land after another night of flying; it went wrong.

Walburga was surprised to find that she could support Druella all the way to the hospital wing. The matron determined that Druella's arm was broken; there wasn't much to worry about. She had Skele-Gro on hand. Druella only had to stay the night in the hospital wing; Walburga stayed with her.

Just before they were going to sleep she heard Druella mutter, "I love you so much."

Walburga frowned. "Don't be so silly, Dru. The medication has made your tongue loose," she said, although her heart was racing.

"I mean what I'm saying. I really do love you, and even after Hogwarts I want to keep flying under the night sky with you. Every night," she said.

Walburga took a deep breath, thinking. Then she said what she was thinking. "I love you too."

But there was no reply. Druella had fallen asleep.

Perhaps it was best that she never heard Walburga. It would have made it much more difficult for her when she had to get married after this school year.

They had to do what was expected.


	30. Prove It (Lily & Marlene)

**AN: Written for the Weekly Character Appreciation Challenge: Marlene Mckinnon!**

 **The Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge and the Multiple Prompts Challenge: Lily/Marlene**

Prove It (Lily/Marlene)

Lily laughed as Marlene wrapped an arm around her waist. It had become a habit whenever they saw James Potter coming along to talk to her… yet again.

The Quidditch victory against Hufflepuff was a great start to the competition and was signalling more success to come. James Potter seemed to think that the occasion might have softened her stance of decisively _not_ going out with him. She didn't understand why he didn't get the message.

"Evans," he said as a way of greeting. Spotting Marlene, he said, "McKinnon."

"Can I ask what you want?" Marlene had moved closer to Lily.

"I want to talk to Evans," he said, trying to throw a charming grin her way. Marlene wasn't one to go weak at the knees at mere smiles.

"Talk to me then," said Lily.

James stopped trying to distract Marlene and asked the same question he always did. "Will you go out with me, Evans?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Sorry but I have a girlfriend. I've told you this before," she said, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, come on! McKinnon is not your girlfriend," he said with a scowl.

" _Marlene_ , most certainly is," she retorted.

He frowned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Prove it."

"What?" Lily asked.

"I said, prove that McKinnon is actually your girlfriend," he said, looking positively triumphant.

Marlene smirked. "Happily."

Lily almost burst out laughing at the way James' face dropped, but couldn't bring herself to care as Marlene's lips met hers. They tasted of the strawberries she had eaten only moments ago, and Lily allowed herself to melt into the kiss, finding that she quite enjoyed it.

When they finally parted, breathless but smiling, they couldn't see James anymore. He must have left sometime during the kiss.

"Thanks, Marlene," said Lily with a covert glance at the other girl's lips.

Marlene laughed. "Lily, you're nowhere near as subtle as you think you are."

Lily lifted her hand and put it on Marlene's waist, pulling her closer. When she didn't object, Lily leaned forward for another kiss.


	31. Normal and Boring (Sirius & Lily)

**AN: Written for the Diagon Alley Bingo #52 Sirius/Lily.**

 **Also written for Bad Movie Tuesdays – [dialogue] "Here we are, two perfectly normal people."**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Cards Challenge: 301**

Normal and Boring (Sirius/Lily)

"Sit down, Black!"

"Oh come on, Evans. Transfiguration is so boring!"

For the past half an hour, Lily had been attempting to help Sirius with his Transfiguration work. It was not going to plan. So far, all they had done was the first two questions. There were twenty more.

"I don't care if it's boring. Professor McGonagall said I had to tutor you so sit dow—"

"Here we are, two perfectly normal people," he said.

"I wouldn't call you normal," grumbled Lily.

Sirius carried on, undeterred. "And we're sat here doing _homework_. We're not even making an effort to be slightly different. Evans," he said, reaching down and yanking her up. "Let's just be different!"

He spun her around, making her feel terribly dizzy. Stumbling, she landed in his arms. And being in such close proximity she could smell the Firewhisky on his breath.

"You're drunk!" she exclaimed, jabbing a finger into his chest.

"That doesn't change the fact that we're being _boring_!" he said with a frown. "And I'm not that drunk."

Lily couldn't deny that his words had a slight bit of truth to them. He could have been considered a philosophical drunk… he was an immature one at the same time though.

"Drunk enough to be acting like a complete tosser," she said, simply. "And if you're not that drunk then _sit down_ and do your work."

A grin stretched across Sirius' face. That couldn't mean anything good. "For a kiss," he said.

"No!"

"Fine, no homework."

"Go ahead, it's you that'll be failing your OWLs," said Lily, picking up her things and storming away.

She could feel that she was blushing furiously. It was as if the Firewhisky on Sirius' breath had intoxicated her, making her mind whirl with thoughts of philosophy, Transfiguration and heated kisses.


	32. Inseparable (Molly, Fabian & Gideon)

**AN: For the Greek Mythology Category Competition – Meliae**

 **For the Diagon Alley II Bingo: #65 Molly, Gideon, and Fabian**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Challenge: 538 words**

Inseparable (Molly, Gideon & Fabian)

They were inseparable.

Molly had always loved to bake. Gideon had always loved to eat... so had Fabian.

So whenever Molly was trying something new or just baking the same old thing, she knew that she could count on her brothers to cheer her on—even if it felt like it was all going wrong, like the time the oven caught fire.

Fabian had always loved to write. Gideon had always loved to read. Molly had always been amazing at listening.

So whenever Fabian was writing, he knew that his siblings would offer praise and critique… and just be there for him to bounce his ideas off of.

Gideon had always loved to draw. Fabian had always paid attention to details and Molly had always loved pretty things.

So whenever Gideon was drawing, he knew that every tiny detail he put in would be appreciated—and that even after joining the Order, when his art became significantly darker, someone would always see beauty in it.

They were never torn apart. Even when Gideon joined the Order, Fabian didn't hesitate to do the same. And though Molly didn't join with them, she was always there to support them after a particularly bad night or to motivate them when they seemed to be losing hope.

So it was a shock when they were separated.

"I know how difficult this must be for you, Molly. You were inseparable."

Molly turned away from her husband, trying desperately to swallow the painful lump in her throat.

She felt Arthur shift in their bed, and the feeling of his warm hand on her back was her undoing.

"Why was it them?" she asked, her voice hoarse from the sleep still clinging to it.

She took two deep breaths. She needed to calm down. Her tears were not going to fix anything.

Arthur's hands touched her face, and feeling the wetness on his cheeks, they moved with his arms to wrap around her.

"Oh, Mols, don't cry," he said, speaking into her neck.

"I'm sorry, Arthur." It was all she could manage before she properly fell apart. Her sobs racked her body and she was partially aware that she must have been jolting Arthur but she couldn't stop.

He was with her and he was holding her. These moments of weakness were only ever seen by her brothers and the thought only served to make her loss more apparent because they weren't here and they weren't seeing this.

They wouldn't have wanted her to be crying like this. They had always been the solution to her troubles, never the cause.

But then, wouldn't that change be appropriate to all the other changes?

She shook her head. Thinking like that would not help.

They were inseparable.

Death could not tear them apart.

Molly hung Gideon's paintings around the Burrow and Fabian's stories, complete and incomplete, filled the shelves.

Every now and again Molly would stop and stare at a painting, or begin to read one of the manuscripts. She would smile. Because her brothers were still there, with her. Their bond was still as strong as ever in their works. Because they had only been possible with the help of each other—because they were inseparable.


	33. Supposed To (Lavender & Luna)

**AN: Written for the Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge and the Femslash Drabble Tag!**

 **Greek Mythology Category Competition - Apollo**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Cards Challenge: 149 words**

Supposed To (Luna/Lavender)

"Have you lost your mind?" she asks with a frown.

The other girl sits on the floor and looks up at the stars. She's always loved them; she's always loved the Astronomy Tower. She puts her hands on her blonde head and closes her eyes, concentrating.

Then she opens her eyes. "No," she says, perfectly innocently. "It's still there."

The other girl can't help but smile. She tries to hide it. She can't.

"Why are you smiling?" asks the blonde, tilting her head to the side.

"You're meant to be learning Divination with me and we're not getting anywhere," says the other girl.

She sits down next to the blonde and she places the crystal ball on the ground. Taking the blonde's hand in her own she guides them over the surface of it, blushing furiously when she looks up and finds the blonde gazing intently at her, instead of the crystal ball.


	34. I'm Sorry (Narcissa & Molly)

**AN: Written for the Femslash Drabble Tag and the Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge!**

 **Greek Mythology Category Competition - Achlys**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Cards Challenge: 241 words**

I'm Sorry (Narcissa/Molly)

Narcissa walks through the cold rooms of Malfoy Manor.

Molly runs her hands along the walls of the Burrow.

Both of them aren't thinking about their own homes. Both of them are thinking about Hogwarts.

About a time where the two of them used to speak to each other. When the talks of blood purity were just that. Talks.

The two of them know now that words have great power. What were once _just_ words grew and grew into great living beasts that tore them apart.

 _"Molly, they're just a group of purebloods that want to defend our pure lineage."_

Narcissa winced, remembering how she had laughed at how ridiculous they all seemed. Now, she was in the midst of them all. Her husband was a Death Eater... her son's future seemed to be heading the same way.

 _"How can you not take them seriously?"_

Molly winced, remembering how she had raised her voice at Narcissa. That had been their first argument. It had grown into a war of _just_ words and they hadn't spoken to each other for a week.

In that week, Narcissa's marriage had been arranged. She was to marry Lucius Malfoy after she finished school.

 _"Molly, I love you. You know I love you?"_

 _"I love you, Cissy. I don't want to love you. I don't want to know that you love me. Not if this is all going to be taken away the moment we leave this castle."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"I'm sorry."_


	35. Nox (Astoria & Pansy)

**AN: Written for the Locked Character Challenge (Pansy Parkinson + Nox) and the Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge!**

 **Greek Mythology Category Competition - Demeter**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Cards Challenge: 465 words**

Nox (Astoria/Pansy)

Pansy was sat on her bed with her wand beside her. The tip of it was lit up with a _Lumos_. Everyone who slept in her dorm had gone up to the Astronomy Tower for a late night lesson with Professor Sinistra. It was entirely optional and Pansy had thought that barely anybody would attend.

She was wrong.

She had come to her room to find it devoid of other people. The eerie sounds of the lake echoed through the dormitory and Pansy found that she didn't like being alone in the dark room.

Then she heard footsteps and the door to the dormitory opened. Pansy whispered a quick _Nox_ and she turned to see who had entered.

"Pansy?"

"Oh, it's you, Astoria!" exclaimed Pansy, thankful that she wasn't going to be alone. Then she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I snuck out of the Astronomy lesson when I realised you weren't there," answered Astoria, sitting on the edge of Pansy's bed.

"Missed me that much?" asked Pansy with a smirk. "Make yourself comfortable. Why are you sat right at the edge?"

She heard Astoria take a deep breath. "Haven't you heard the rumours?" she asked.

Pansy's eyes widened and she was thankful that Astoria couldn't see her. For the past couple of weeks, Pansy had been hearing rumours circulating about Astoria. They concerned Pansy as well. Apparently, Astoria liked her.

Was this Astoria trying to clear the air? Pansy couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. But they were good friends; Pansy wouldn't let this ruin that.

The candles in the room lit up and Pansy looked up just in time to see Astoria putting her wand away. How did she do that?

When her eyes moved to Astoria's face, she saw that her eyes were watering.

"Astoria?" she asked; her voice was soft.

Then the tears spilled over.

"It's true," whispered Astoria, keeping her eyes firmly on the ground.

Pansy looked at Astoria. At her glossy, brown hair and at the tears that were running down her face, and she made up her mind.

She crawled over to Astoria, put her hand under the other girl's chin and turned her head to face her. And she moved forward.

Their lips met and Astoria's eyes were wide with surprise, but they quickly closed as the kiss became deeper, more fervent. Pansy let her hand find its way to Astoria's hair and moved even closer to her as the taste of salt coated her tongue.

When they finally parted, they were all breathless smiles and heaving chests.

Astoria was the first to regain her senses. Climbing onto the bed properly, she gently pushed Pansy back.

Pansy smirked. "Already want to go again?"

Astoria laughed, cutting the beautiful sound off as her lips met Pansy's again.


	36. You Can't Win (Ginny & Luna)

**AN: Written for the Femslash Drabbleathon Challenge!**

You Can't Win (Ginny/Luna)

It was the day after the Holyhead Harpies match and Ginny was curled up on the sofa, skimming through the Daily Prophet.

Luna had just entered the room when Ginny threw the paper and cursed under her breath.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Ginny looked up, surprised to see Luna. "Bloody Rita Skeeter," she said with a huff. "I'm surprised they haven't sacked the cow."

Luna smiled and walked over to Ginny, taking a seat beside her. "Didn't you win the match though?" she asked.

Ginny snorted. "Still doesn't stop her from saying negative things," she said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around the blonde.

"Don't listen to her," murmured Luna, twirling Ginny's hair through her fingers. They had dots of blue paint on them and she smiled as Ginny became less tense.

"Do you want to go out tonight?" asked Ginny, her voice muffled from her face being buried in Luna's hair.

"What for?"

Ginny let go of Luna and sat up with a grin. "To celebrate having such an amazing girlfriend."

"What about celebrating the match?" asked Luna.

"That too," said Ginny with a laugh. Sobering up quickly, she asked, "Now, are you going to show me that painting you were working on?"

Luna grinned. "I just finished it."


	37. I Can't Love You (Remus & Narcissa)

**AN: Written for the Convince Me Competition!**

 **Greek Mythology Category Competition – Coeus, The Emotion Challenge – Apologetic**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Challenge: 3,076 words**

I Can't Love You (Remus/Narcissa)

Remus woke up, squeezing his eyes shut against the bright light streaming through the windows. He knew he was in the hospital wing; he always ended up in the hospital wing after a transformation.

Not bothering to try and sit up—he knew from experience that it was incredibly painful—Remus listened carefully for any sign of Madame Pomfrey.

"Madame Pomfrey?"

Remus didn't recognise the voice. It was clearly female, though.

"Yes, Miss Black?"

That was Madame Pomfrey—and apparently she was speaking to one of the Black sisters.

Remus knew of them through Sirius and Ted Tonks. Although Sirius didn't speak about his family often—and when he did, he didn't have very nice things to say about them—Ted spoke to James quite often and seemed to have an interest in Andromeda. She was the middle sister, as far as his knowledge extended.

The oldest out of them, Bellatrix, had a notorious reputation around school. She had left Hogwarts a couple of years ago. You would have thought that she was someone out of a storybook the way some people spoke about her.

"I was wondering if you had considered my application for volunteering here?" asked Miss Black.

Volunteering… that meant she was a sixth year. Andromeda, the sister that Ted liked, was in her seventh year so this had to be Narcissa.

Remus was momentarily proud of figuring that out, but the pain in his head quickly made itself known and he bit his tongue to stop a groan escaping him. He didn't want to interrupt Madame Pomfrey's conversation.

"I have considered it, and I was wondering why you weren't applying to St Mungo's. It's a brilliant place to get some hands on experience," said Madame Pomfrey.

"I—my father doesn't think it's appropriate for me to go into St Mungo's where I may encounter people we know," said Narcissa.

Remus frowned. He knew that the Blacks were purebloods but the reasoning behind not allowing their daughter to go and get some work experience was ridiculous. He could see why Sirius didn't want to associate himself with that sort of lifestyle.

"Did you not try to convince your father?" asked Madame Pomfrey.

"Well… no, I didn't. I didn't want to risk not doing it at all."

"Ah, I understand. Your father wrote to the headmaster and I was called up to help with the response. I can see why you wouldn't want to risk it."

Narcissa laughed. To Remus it sounded quite strained. "He is of the belief that since I am to be married shortly after leaving school, gaining any experience of the working world would be useless."

Remus would have laughed if he hadn't felt so bad for the girl. What an archaic way of thinking!

"Well, since that is the case, I will gladly accept your help in here. Your grades are quite promising if you wanted to head towards a career in healing."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," said Narcissa. "Am I to start today or tomorrow like the rest of the students?"

"I don't see the harm in you starting a day early. Your lessons for the day are over and Miss McKinnon needs her arm attending to after a Quidditch injury."

Remus was surprised at the way Madame Pomfrey seemed to so easily trust Narcissa with the healing. He wouldn't have trusted a student with a Quidditch injury straight away. He was spared from wondering what would become of Marlene's arm when Madame Pomfrey popped her head around the curtain surrounding his bed.

"I've got your final dose of Sleeping Draught, Mr Lupin," she said with a smile, handing over a vial.

"Thank you," he said, before drinking it all at once. He knew from experience that the taste wasn't pleasant.

Madame Pomfrey's smiling face was the last thing he saw before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

When he next awoke, he found himself with a pounding headache, _again._ The past few full moons had been particularly rough, and as a result, his recovery time had lengthened as well.

He tried to call out Madame Pomfrey's name but ended up letting out a strangled sounding groan. Immediately, he heard a pair of rushing footsteps.

Remus was surprised when he saw who had entered his curtained off 'room'. He had been expecting Madame Pomfrey, but instead Narcissa Malfoy was stood before him, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Remus' eyes widened and he could feel his cheeks reddening. It was terribly embarrassing to be seen like this. For some reason, he hadn't realised just how pretty Narcissa was.

Even though she was wearing an apron like Madame Pomfrey's and had her hair tied back quite messily, Remus couldn't help but admire her dainty features, and the wisps of hair that had escaped her bun just looked… pretty.

Attempting to collect himself, Remus said, "I just have a small headache."

Narcissa frowned. "Oh dear, Madame Pomfrey just went to get a batch of pain-relieving potions because we ran out."

"That's fine," said Remus, plastering a smile on his face.

Looking like she was thinking, Narcissa suddenly exclaimed, "I know what could tide you over." And digging through the pockets in her apron, she pulled out a chocolate bar. "Have some chocolate," she said with a smile. "It will make you feel better, Mr…?"

"Lupin," said Remus. "Remus Lupin."

He didn't want to accept the chocolate but Narcissa was glaring at him like she already knew that he was thinking of refusing. For someone he had presumed to be quite meek, she was certainly intimidating.

After he had taken the chocolate, she introduced herself. "I'm Narcissa," she said with a smile. "Can I ask what happened? I mean, why you're in the hospital wing?"

Remus' eyes widened and he was trying to think of a response when he heard Madame Pomfrey's voice calling, "Narcissa? Where are you?"

Narcissa gave him an apologetic smile before leaving him. "I'm here, Madame Pomfrey."

There was a moment of silence and Remus presumed that Madame Pomfrey was trying to figure out what she had been doing near Remus without her permission.

"Could you attend to Mr Potter?" she asked, breaking the quiet. "It's another Quidditch injury."

James was in here? Remus hoped that he hadn't hurt himself too badly. Today was likely to be his last day in the hospital wing once he had taken the potions for his headache.

* * *

The day after he had been discharged from the hospital wing, Remus returned with Sirius after lessons to see how James was faring. In Remus' case, he also wanted to see Narcissa again. He hadn't thanked her properly for the chocolate and he was rather embarrassed about it. He must have come across as incredibly greedy.

But when they entered the hospital wing, Narcissa took one look at Sirius and stumbled slightly, clearly shocked. Sirius turned away from her, his mouth set in a thin line.

Remus' eyes widened. Of course, Narcissa and Sirius were cousins…

Sirius' lack of anything positive to say about his family made him wonder for a moment. Was Narcissa actually as nice as she had come across previously?

Thinking about it, Remus realised he was being stupid.

Sirius looked expectantly at Remus and from the corner of his eyes, Remus saw Sirius' eyes widen as he smiled at Narcissa and said, "Thank you—for yesterday."

Narcissa nodded at him with a small smile. "It was no problem at all."

* * *

After they left the hospital wing, Sirius stormed down to the Quidditch pitch.

Remus finally managed to catch up to him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" exclaimed Sirius. "You just spoke to Narcissa!"

Remus frowned in confusion. "What was wrong with that? All I said was thank you."

Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "What for? She's a part of the family that are always ranting on about blood purity! You should have taken my side."

"There was no side to take," said Remus, hiding a small smile at Sirius' dramatics. "I was only saying thank you because she helped me yesterday when I had a headache."

That stopped Sirius. "She _helped_ you?" he asked.

Remus let out a small chuckle. "Yes, she did."

"But she doesn't even know you," said Sirius.

"She doesn't, but she still helped me," said Remus. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to go to the library. I've already wasted a lot of time that could have spent doing my potions homework."

"Why don't you just do it in the common room?" asked Sirius.

"I'd rather not have to deal with all of the noise," he said with a smile, leaving Sirius to his own thoughts.

* * *

Remus was reading his textbook in the library when he heard someone clear their throat. Looking up, he was surprised to see a slightly nervous-looking Narcissa.

Seeing that she had his attention, she asked, "Can I sit here?"

Remus looked around, noticing that a group of older Slytherin students were glaring at him. His table only had room for two; from what he could see, the rest of the library seemed full.

"Of course, you can," he said, picking up two of his books from the table and placing them on the floor to make space.

"Thank you, Remus," she said, taking the seat opposite him.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you not in the hospital wing?"

"Madame Pomfrey gave me the rest of the day off because the hospital wing wasn't busy and I had some homework to do," she answered. "And since I can tell that you're wondering, I'm not sat with my friends because they like to talk when I'm trying to concentrate."

Remus felt his cheeks reddening; why did they always do that at the most inopportune of times?

"Sorry," he said, unsure of whether he should go back to his reading yet.

"Don't be," she said, opening one of her books, signalling that Remus could start reading again.

Ten minutes later, Remus heard Narcissa huff.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her scowl.

"Nothing," she said. But clearly there was something bothering her.

Looking down at the book she was reading, he saw that it was a Transfiguration guide. He used it quite often to help with his homework.

"That's a helpful book," he remarked, nodding towards it.

"Is it?" asked Narcissa, and Remus noticed her grip on the book tightening.

"I don't want to sound rude," said Remus, slowly, "but are you struggling with Transfiguration?"

Narcissa sighed, dropping the book onto the table. "Yes."

"I could help… if you wanted?"

Narcissa looked up at him, and Remus felt his breath hitch slightly. "I wouldn't want to bother you—"

"You wouldn't bother me," said Remus with a smile.

* * *

Remus quickened his pace as he neared the lake. He had suggested the location because there were plenty of pebbles that they could transfigure. He could see Narcissa's figure with her back turned to him; she was earlier than he was.

Reaching her, he said, "Ready to start?"

She jumped at his voice but quickly relaxed when she realised that it was only him. "Definitely."

So far, they had only been conversing about Transfiguration, so when she asked about Sirius, it came as a surprise.

"How is Sirius?" she asked, carefully avoiding meeting his eyes.

Remus frowned, his mind flashing back to all of the times Sirius had told him about his manipulative family. "He's well," he answered, unsure about what she had wanted as an answer.

Narcissa hesitated for a moment before saying, "Could you tell him that I'm not angry at him for being a Gryffindor? Neither are Andy—Andromeda or Regulus," said Narcissa, sounding embarrassed. "I'm sorry that I'm asking you to play owl but I don't think I'm going to get a chance to let him know. He seems to think that we're all upset about it."

Remus glanced at her. She looked pleading and Remus couldn't help but feel that she was being honest. "I'll tell him," he said and Narcissa let out a breath she must have been holding.

"Thank you so much, Remus," she said, placing a hand on his arm. Her close proximity made his heart skip a beat but all too soon she turned back to the pebble they had been working on for the past few minutes.

Remus frowned; it was best that she stayed away from him.

* * *

"You went to see her?" exclaimed Sirius.

Remus squeezed his eyes shut. He had hoped that Sirius would have overlooked that in favour of the knowledge that his family still cared for him.

"I was just helping her with Transfiguration work," said Remus.

"I don't believe it," said Sirius. "It's probably a scheme cooked up by my parents."

"She seemed genuine, Sirius," said Remus, trying to make his best friend see reason.

"You don't know my family."

Remus couldn't help but think that perhaps Sirius wanted to believe the worst of all of them.

* * *

As the school year went on, he found himself in the company of Narcissa more and more. They studied together in the library and gave each other recommendations for leisurely reading. Along with that, their Transfiguration lessons were coming along rather nicely.

It was in one of these later lessons that Narcissa managed to transfigure a pebble into a cat. The magic behind it was advanced and Remus grinned at Narcissa's obvious delight with achieving the results she had intended.

"Remus, its tail isn't even grey! It's all ginger… and all cat!" she exclaimed.

"So, it is!" He reached out to… well, he didn't know what he was intending to do but it certainly wasn't to hug her. But Narcissa saw his outstretched arm and immediately wrapped her arms around him.

He stiffened in surprise but quickly returned the gesture, and when they separated he couldn't help but notice her still beaming at him.

"Thank you so much, Remus!"

"It was no trouble," he said with a shy smile.

* * *

Remus pulled on his cloak and crept out of the common room. It was getting dark and he had to meet Narcissa for their lesson before curfew.

He felt almost guilty for keeping it a secret from Sirius, but Remus kept his hopes up that Sirius would see past Narcissa's surname and try to speak to her again.

"I'm here, Narcissa," he said when he reached the edge of the lake. It was completely still and Remus had to quell the urge to whisper.

She turned and offered him a warm smile. "You wouldn't guess what happened in Transfiguration today," she said.

"What happened?" he asked, curious.

"I was called up to demonstrate a spell to the class! Professor McGonagall said she'd noticed my improvement and gave me twenty house points as well," she said with a grin.

"That's brilliant!" exclaimed Remus.

"It really is," she said. Then she continued, sounding thoughtful, "You know, Remus? You're a lot different to what I expected."

Remus was surprised for a moment. "What do you mean?"

She looked at him, still smiling, "You're just so… kind. You've been so helpful even when you've had no reason to be, and you're even happy for me getting house points, despite the fact that I'm not in your house."

"I don't think that it's _that_ —"

"I think it's lovely," she said, stepping closer to him. "More people could afford to be like you, Remus." She placed her hand on his arm, just like she had before. But this time, he noticed something he didn't recognise in her gaze. A shadow of doubt flickered across her face and she was about to step back when Remus instinctively grabbed her waist to stop her.

Upon seeing her surprise, Remus let go, entirely embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said.

Remus himself was surprised when a look of determination came upon her face, and she stepped forward.

He squeezed his eyes shut, fully expecting a slap across the face. So when a pair of soft lips met his cheek, his eyes flew open in shock.

Narcissa looked at him, trying to gauge his reaction. He couldn't find any words… Narcissa had just kissed him on the cheek!

"I'm sorry," she said, looking embarrassed.

"Oh no! Don't be," he said, quickly.

"I just thought that—never mind," she said, shaking her head.

"Narcissa," he said, taking a deep breath and stepping closer to her. "Don't be sorry."

And with that, he took the plunge and let his lips meet hers. It was sweet and gentle, and when they parted both of them had teary eyes.

"Did I—did I do something wrong?" asked Remus.

"Not at all," said Narcissa, letting her head rest against his. "Did I?"

"No."

Then Narcissa laughed. It was mirthful but bitter at the same time; Remus hadn't known that such a sound was possible, but it resonated with him. "Look at us both, crying after that," she said. Her voice turned serious. "You didn't do anything wrong, Remus. It's just—you shouldn't like me."

"It's funny," said Remus, not finding the situation funny at all, "I was thinking the same thing."

"Why shouldn't I like you?" she asked with a small smile that juxtaposed with her tears.

"I can't tell you," he whispered, wiping the tears on her cheeks. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I think you know," she said. Remus' mind flicked back to the day he had first noticed Narcissa Black.

 _"_ _He is of the belief that since I am to be married shortly after leaving school, gaining any experience of the working world would be useless."_

"I'm sorry I can't love you," she said, new tears sliding down her face.

Remus understood. "I'm sorry I can't love you," he said.

And there they stood, by the lake, trying to compose themselves before they went back up to the castle.

Just before they parted in the Entrance Hall, Narcissa turned to him and said, "Thank you."

As she was walking away, Remus called out, "Thank you."

Neither of them knew why, but it felt like the appropriate thing to say. Perhaps they were thanking each other for what they had done for each other, or perhaps they were thanking each other for giving them a feeling they were sure they weren't going to feel again. Either way, both of them knew that they were going to be their parting words—their final words—to each other.


	38. Co-commentating (Lee & Luna)

**AN: For the Crazy Random Pairing Challenge!**

Co-commentating (Lee/Luna)

"There goes Hufflepuff's Chaser—oh it looks like there might be a collision!" exclaimed Lee, literally gripping Luna's shoulder for support whilst he was commentating.

"Oh dear," said Luna, as the players got closer to each other. "I was sure that there were no Blubbering Humdingers on the pitch when we came on."

Lee glanced at her, amused but confused. "What are Blubbering Humdingers?" he asked, and he heard McGonagall groan.

"They're small creatures that—"

"Jordan, Lovegood," snapped Professor McGonagall. "Please focus on what you're supposed to be doing."

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall," said Luna with a smile, but Lee was focusing on what was happening on the pitch.

"Is that—Hufflepuff's Seeker is diving! Has he seen the snitch? Gryffindor's Seeker doesn't seem to realise what's happening yet! Oh shi—"

"Lee Jordan! If you cannot control your language, I will find someone to replace you!"

"You're already getting Luna ready for my job," he retorted, and an 'ooh' came up from the crowd, making McGonagall flush.

"I am not at all! With your OWLs coming up you need some assistance," said a flustered Professor McGonagall.

"That's good then, Professor," said Luna, still smiling. "I think Lee does a brilliant job at commentating. I couldn't replace him."

Lee turned to Luna, expecting her to be joking but she seemed genuinely serious.

"Thanks," he said, bumping shoulders with her. "Professor, you could really learn from Miss Lovegood."

Another 'ooh' came from the stands and Professor McGonagall sputtered indignantly, making his grin widen.

Then, a voice shouted down to him, and looking up, Lee saw Fred's face grinning down at him. He had just batted away a Bludger.

"You should just kiss her now if you're willing to defy Professor McGonagall to compliment her," he said, chuckling.

Then Professor McGonagall found her voice. "Fred Weasley, focus on the game!"

"I batted the Bludger towards the Slytherin Keeper and it's perfectly on aim! George is dealing with the other one but if you insist, I'll help him as well," he said, cheekily.

Lee was glad that most people were focussing on Fred and Professor McGonagall as the comment the ginger had made about Luna had caused him to become quite flustered.

However, Luna's comment of, "Are you okay, Lee?" caused the attention to turn back to him.

By now, the audience sat nearest to the commentating box weren't even paying attention to the match.

"He's just rattled that I managed to make such a spot on observation," said Fred, winking at Luna before flying off.

"Is he talking about when he said you should kiss me?" asked Luna.

Lee groaned and buried his face into his hands. "Yes."

He was surprised when Luna laughed and placed a kiss on his cheek. A chorus of cheers went up and for a moment, Lee thought that he had missed a goal, but it turned out that they were cheering at nothing.

From beside him, McGonagall said, "They're cheering for you."

When he gaped at her, she simply rolled her eyes and snatched the microphone from in front of him, beginning to commentate the match herself.


	39. Take the Step (Astoria & Pansy)

**AN: Pride of Portree**

 **Beater 1: Write a lighthearted friendship story about Slytherin characters.**

 **Optional Prompts: (style) letter!fic, (quote) 'Help me… I'm feeling!' - The Grinch, How the Grinch Stole Christmas; (quote) 'It's easy to make a decision if you already know what the outcome will be.' - Armin, Attack on Titan**

 **Greek Mythology Category Competition - Hermes**

 **Famous Witches and Wizards Cards Challenge: 1,372**

Take the Step

 _Dear Astoria,_

 _It's the first time I'm writing to you in these holidays, but I just had to tell you something. I have been unsure about whether I do or don't have feelings for Draco; I told you about it just before the hols began. However, now I think I'm sure about how I feel about him. Yesterday, he came to our house with his parents, and Astoria, he was so polite and sweet! We went for a walk around the gardens and he even offered me his jacket… Help me… I'm feeling!_

 _I must admit that although I am sure about my feelings for him, I don't quite know what to do about them. It's not as if I can just tell him; he'd think I was terribly forward, and my mother says that's unbecoming for a young lady._

 _I have no idea about what I should do! I've never felt like this before… It's all awfully confusing, so I just had to ask for your advice about what to do. You had feelings for Blaise and he courted you last year. What did you do to get his attention?_

 _Sincerely,  
Pansy_

* * *

 _Dear Pansy,_

 _It's lovely to hear from you! I had a feeling that you had feelings for Draco—dear me, that's a handful of a sentence—I simply thought that it was only a matter of time before you realised that you did. I must admit that it's quite fun to read about you struggling with how to deal with such emotions as you're always teasing the rest of us for being 'sappy'._

 _To answer your question about Blaise, I don't know what I did to get his attention! I think that I was just there at the right time. Perhaps you could speak to Draco more? Talk about interesting things and about his family—but don't do that too much. Blaise is friends with Draco and whilst we spoke last year, he confessed that although Draco, and a lot of the Slytherin boys for that matter, take pride in their family names, they do get slightly fed up with speaking about it all the time. Apparently, they don't want to feel as if their name defines them, which confuses me because it does! Honestly, boys are an enigma..._

 _Perhaps we could discuss this further on Sunday? Mother is making a big dinner and said that I could invite you and your parents to attend if I wanted to—and if you wanted to, of course._

 _Sincerely,  
Astoria_

* * *

 _Dear Astoria,_

 _It was lovely seeing you last night! You must give your mother my thanks. The discussion we had regarding Draco was enlightening and I have been thinking about it since we got back home. I just don't want to take a step that I can't take back. Making decisions is far too difficult!_

 _Do you have your new cauldron yet? I know that your pewter one got dented in the last lesson we had before the holidays…_

 _Will you be attending the function that the Malfoys are holding?_

 _Pansy_

* * *

 _Dear Pansy,_

 _My mother said it was lovely to hear from you and that you are welcome to come around at any time. You do realise that it's easier to make a decision if you already know what the outcome will be, right? If you don't take the step, you will regret it. I know you will. I understand that you might want to take some more time before you actually make the decision, and I know that you don't want to be forward, but Draco seems to be rather busy and distracted as of late. Perhaps you just need to bring the matter to his attention._

 _If you are hesitating, know one thing: You are not a shrinking little petal (even though your name is Pansy). You can do this._

 _Unfortunately, I won't be there as Father must attend a Ministry meeting and my mother says it would be inappropriate for us to go without the head of our family._

 _And I do not yet have a replacement for my cauldron, although I can use my silver one for Potions in the meantime._

 _Astoria_

* * *

 _Dearest Astoria,_

 _I am terribly sorry about the time it took for me to reply to your letter! I read it as soon as it was delivered and decided to take your advice. As luck would have it, we had to set off for Malfoy Manor for the function just as I finished reading. I am sure you are terribly anxious to know what happened, so I will spare the details for when we next see each other (which isn't too far away now)!_

 _I told Draco how I felt when we were in the gardens. He looked terribly surprised for a moment and I began to doubt whether I had made the right decision, but then his expression cleared and he told me that I was a great friend… and that he was flattered by my feelings for him!_

 _Long story short, we are now in a relationship! I cannot wait to see you again; I feel as if I could spin you around in a hug._

 _With love,  
Pansy_

* * *

 _Pansy,_

 _Oh my goodness; that is amazing news! I also cannot wait to hear the details, but please no spinning or hugs. We both know that although I am a terrible sap, I do not deal with hugs well._

 _School returns very soon indeed. I am going to sorely miss the lack of homework, but I am positively ecstatic to be able to see everyone again. Before then, I have my birthday to focus on! Mother and Father wish to take me out somewhere but haven't yet decided exactly where; Daphne hopes to go to a restaurant that her friends have mentioned so we might go there._

 _Have you and Draco seen each other since the function? It's going to be so lovely seeing the two of you together!_

 _Astoria_

* * *

 _Astoria,_

 _Happy birthday! I am not quite sure if this will get to you on the day of your birthday, but I hope you have a lovely day and like the present I bought you! When we get back to school, I will certainly be treating you on our next Hogsmeade weekend for the help with Draco as well as for your birthday._

 _I have not seen Draco since the function, but we have been writing letters back and forth, which I am glad for. It gives me a chance to think about what I am going to say… I wouldn't know what to do if he called by Floo!_

 _I am dreading the homework, but as long as there isn't too much of it, I think I should be okay. I think…_

 _Pansy_

* * *

 _Pansy,_

 _Thank you so much! I love the cauldron (now I know why you asked about it earlier)! You don't have to do anything once it's not my birthday anymore; seeing you will be enough of a treat. The engravings around the rim are absolutely stunning. Thank you again._

 _If he called by Floo, then you would be your usual amazing self! It's brilliant to know that the two of you are keeping in contact, though._

 _Don't make me laugh. "As long as there isn't too much…" Did you forget that we have Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape? They take every opportunity to give us homework!_

 _Astoria_

* * *

 _Astoria,_

 _I'm so happy that you liked the cauldron! I will definitely be treating you, regardless of what you say._

 _These last couple of days have been so hectic! I came back home with only a few things and now I'm returning with two cases… Mother and Father do spoil me sometimes. I only hope that all of my things will fit in the dormitory; if not, I can always use the Undetectable Extension Charm._

 _I'm just worried that he might take one look at me on the train tomorrow and change his mind about everything. But that's just my own silly worries… He wouldn't do that._

 _I was hoping for too much, wasn't I? Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape are unforgiving when it comes to homework._

 _I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow! I can't wait._

 _Pansy_


	40. Waifish (Bellatrix & Luna)

**AN: Written for the Femmeslash Drabble Tag!**

Waifish (Bellatrix/Luna)

The girl is sat there in her sister's basement looking... waifish.

When her cellmates leave and she's all alone, it doesn't scare her. Contrary to that, she looks up at the ceiling and smiles. It's as if she's envisioning something that Bellatrix can't see and it's infuriating but, oh, so fascinating.

Bella's always been curious. There's that old saying... curiosity killed the cat.

She grins (like the cat that got the cream).

She's always gotten what she's wanted, and today, she wants to know what's going on in Luna Lovegood's head.

There's a feeling of purity around _Miss_ Lovegood and it's like she's some kind of a treasure—locked behind bars where Bella can't get her, but the feeling of being forbidden makes Luna all the more enticing.

So, when Narcissa is upstairs, Bella unlocks the cell door and walks over to the blonde. She knows the hem of her robe is getting soaked in the deliberately dampened stone floor, but she doesn't care—not when she's so close to finding out what she wants to know.

The Sorting Hat said she'd have been a good fit for Ravenclaw.

In an instant, she's sat beside the blonde enigma, and when she turns her head to look at her, Bellatrix keeps her expression placid. It's when Luna smiles that she whispers, "Legilimens."

And then she sees the thoughts. They're pure and innocent and _oh, she likes my hair._

When Bella stands up again to leave, she sees the faintest shadow of a frown on Luna's face.

As she's locking the cell door she wonders: does she want to make it deeper?

She tilts her head to the side, thinking.

She's unsure, but another visit tomorrow might clarify that…


	41. Poison (Cho & Padma)

**AN: Written for the GGE Drabble Tag (ChoPadma - Poison)**

Poison (Cho/Padma)

"Poison."

Cho pulls her hand out of Padma's. "What are you talking about?"

"It's what the lines on your hands say; there's going to be some kind of poison in your life."

Looking up, Cho feels a little bit guilty. Padma's face has gone pale and she looks genuinely scared.

"Listen, Padma?"

Padma looks up and in the stuffy Divination classroom, Cho's gaze is like a small breeze.

"It's all a bunch of nonsense anyway."

Cho's words do little to comfort Padma, or even herself, but nevertheless, they let the topic go.

It's months later - Cho comes stumbling up to the Astronomy Tower with tears in her eyes, and she remembers the warning in that Divination lesson. She realises now that the 'poison' was not literal poison. It was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's rhetoric and followers - they'd taken away her Cedric, and had incurably injected their poison into her life.

She barely registers the footsteps behind her. It's when a hand touches her shoulder that she spins around; her chin in the air is defiant, daring the other person to mention her tears.

But when she sees concerned chocolate eyes, her defiance folds in on itself, and she collapses, falling directly into the warm arms of Padma Patil.

"Cho, I'm so sorry," whispers Padma and Cho can't stop the tears that well up in her eyes.

"It wasn't your fault," says Cho in a strangled voice. It's all she can say before the sobs wrack her body - but Padma's arms hold her strong as she tries to cry out the poison.


	42. Isn't This Enough? (Dorcas & Mary)

**AN: Femmeslash Drabble Tag (DorcasMary - "Don't you think this is enough?")**

Isn't This Enough? (Dorcas/Mary)

"Don't you like it?" asked Dorcas. Her voice sounded robotic, echoing off of the walls of the empty barn.

"I like it," said Mary, but upon seeing Dorcas' doubtful look, she added, "I just don't think you should have taken the risk."

"It's your birthday—"

"We're in the middle of a _war_."

"It's your birthday and nothing—certainly not a bloody war—can stop me from giving you as much as you deserve."

Mary shook her head, her blonde hair falling out of the grubby hat she was wearing. "It's dangerous. If anything happened to you because of some silly celebrati—"

"Nothing is going to happen to me; it's not as if Voldemort is going to take time out of his precious schedule to kill me personally."

"Don't say things like that," muttered Mary, and although her voice was quiet, Dorcas could hear the forcefulness behind it.

After a moment of silence, Mary stepped forward and placed her hand in Dorcas', covering the delicate silver in her palm. "Don't you think this," she said, gesturing to the space between the two of them, "just us, is enough?"

"I want to give you more than just 'enough'," said Dorcas, finding Mary's blue eyes. She had always loved them; they reminded her of the deep depths of the ocean.

"You are _everything_ to me." Mary could see the water gathering at the corners of Mary's amber eyes.

"And I want to give you more than that—Voldemort and a war aren't going to stop me."

Mary shuddered. "I'll never understand how you can say his name."

Dorcas flicked her dark hair over her shoulder with a grin. "I'm not scared of him. He can't hurt me."

"You know as well as I do that he can."

"No," said Dorcas, shaking her head stubbornly. "I know that nothing he does will be able to hurt our love. That's all that matters to me."

Mary flung her arms around Dorcas just as her tears began to fall, (but she was grinning from ear to ear). "Merlin only knows why I love you so much," she whispered.

As the two of them, now wearing their glamours, let go of each other, they whispered _stay safe_ 's and _I love you_ 's before going their separate ways—Dorcas through the door of the barn, and Mary Disapparating from within, wearing the thin chain of delicate silver around her wrist.

* * *

 **There's a little bit of cruel irony here since Dorcas was actually killed by the Dark Lord himself. Hope you enjoyed!**


	43. Trace (Daphne & Pansy)

**AN: Written for the GGE Drabble Tag (PansyDaphne - Last Resort)**

Trace (Pansy/Daphne)

They're sat outside. It's warm and even if it wasn't, Daphne knows her hands would be sweating.

Pansy's sitting beside her, pulling up the grass with her bare hands to occupy herself in the silence.

If Daphne listens carefully, she can hear the sound of the grass being torn from the ground. She watches, transfixed, as Pansy drops the blades from her hands; they're still immaculate, with not even the slightest bit of dirt under her fingernails.

It's one of the things Daphne loves most about Pansy: her ability to do the most disruptive things without leaving a trace on herself.

That thought brings her back to just what she was trying to avoid thinking about.

She loves Pansy.

And now, she's going to tell her. It's her last resort. Pansy hasn't yet deciphered the notes Daphne has left her... or even noticed how Daphne acts around her, (utterly discomposed, lacking her usually graceful demeanour).

"Pansy," she says, her voice calm. The levelled tone is surprising to her; she's always imagined herself being a babbling wreck by this stage.

"Yes?" prompts Pansy, her eyes darting up to meet hers, (and those thick, dark lashes...)

"I..." Daphne has to clear her throat, the words have gotten stuck somewhere, and they don't seem to be coming back.

Pansy chuckles, flicking her short dark hair over her shoulders. "What is it? You can't just start and stop straight after," she says.

Daphne takes a deep breath, but the words really aren't coming back. So she does something that has never been in the plan: she leans forward, and lets her lips meet Pansy's in a kiss that she's desperately hoping will be reciprocated.

And although she's hoping it will be reciprocated, it's a huge shock when it is.

Pansy's immaculate hands thread their way into Daphne's brown hair and pull her closer. And goodness, the kiss is rough and passionate and oh, so destructive—but when they pull apart, Pansy's lips are as they always are... Daphne smirks when she sees the slightly pinked tinge to Pansy's cheeks.

 _There is a trace, after all._

Daphne lets her fingers touch her lips. They're swollen, and Daphne likes that Pansy has left a mark, although temporary, on her...


	44. Vulnerability (Theodore & Blaise)

**AN: Written for the GGE Drabble Tag (BlaiseTheo - consequences)**

Vulnerability (Theo/Blaise)

Blaise's first lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts is an odd one.

He enters the classroom to find it chock-full of Gryffindors he doesn't know.

As the lesson starts and students file into their seats, Blaise finds a green tie, and finds himself practically jumping towards it.

Theodore Nott's expression is placid; he is controlled, right to the light brown hairs on his head.

Blaise doesn't know how he does it in a room full of his competition, but he finds that having a someone from his house in the room is helpful.

They spend the lesson together, chatting about their families - general small talk.

Blaise returns to his room that night to find that him and Theodore share the same dormitory.

As he unpacks properly, he takes in the infallible calm emanating from the other boy.

They talk that night, and in the darkness of the dormitory, their conversation takes a more personal turn. (Theodore quickly becomes Theo).

It's years later, when they're in the same Care of Magical Creatures lesson that Blaise sees Theo's usually unimpressed demeanour, become ruffled.

The Thestrals are apparently stood in front of him, but Blaise can't see them; Theo can, if his expression is anything to go by.

The look on his face is a stomach-twisting mixture of pain, curiosity and sorrow, and Blaise watches, fascinated as it is quickly concealed behind a mask of calmness.

The look on the other boy's face is clearly a consequence of some traumatising incident in his life. After all, Thestrals can only be seen by those who have witnessed death... Theo has witnessed death.

That night, their conversation is as it usually is, friendly and light - until Blaise says: "I saw your face."

And even in the dark room, Blaise can sense Theo's shock.

"You can talk to me about it," he says gently.

A rustling sound meets his ears and then Theo speaks. "I can't," he says, more quiet than he has ever been.

"What do you mean?" asks Blaise.

Theo's answer is simple: "I don't like to."

"Oh."

There's a moment of silence.

"It was my mum."

Theo's small voice feels like a punch to his stomach, and Blaise finds himself getting out of bed and padding over to the other boy in the darkness.

"I'm sorry." It's not much, but it's all Blaise can think to say.

"It isn't your fault," says Theo, sounding weary.

"I shouldn't have pushed you to talk abo - "

"Oh hush," says Theo, sitting up in his bed. "Sit down, I don't like the height difference."

Blaise smiles, and does as he's told.

"It isn't your fault, and I'm not going to listen to you blaming yourself," his voice is still hushed, but there's force behind it now. For that, Blaise is glad.

He reaches out to give his friend some physical reassurance and finds his hand running through Theo's hair; his arm is at an awkward angle, having made contact with the other boy quite suddenly after searching for him in the darkness, but Theo seems to be relaxing into his touch, and Blaise finds that he likes this slight vulnerability.

So he shifts closer, and now he's closer to Theo with his arm in a comfortable place.

It's when Theo's head begins to feel heavy in his hands that Blaise realises his friend has fallen asleep, and he lowers it gently so it's resting back on its pillow. He's hesitant to leave Theo, but nevertheless he gets up and tiptoes back over to his own bed.

He spends the night thinking about the feel of Theo's hair in his hands.


	45. Forest Food (Grawp & Dobby)

**AN: You may thank the ever-eccentric Frank Waters for this combination of characters!**

Forest Food (Grawp & Dobby)

Grawp yawned. His large bones cracked as he sat up, grazing his back on the tree trunk.

What had woken him?

He rubbed his eyes rather clumsily with one large hand—that's when he heard it: the soft sound of small footsteps on the forest floor.

A surge of energy shot through him at the prospect of an early meal, but as the owner of the footsteps came into sight, Grawp slumped. It was Dobby, not food.

Then again, Dobby was nice.

His momentary disappointment vanished and he sat up, eager to greet his small companion. Dobby brought food often, and Grawp hoped this time wasn't an exception.

It wasn't.

"Dobby brought Grawp some food," squeaked the house-elf, and Grawp's stomach growled before he could say anything.

The giant's eyes fell on the tiny platters Dobby was carrying. He was so hungry that he didn't care about how small they were; they just had to be in his stomach or he was _going_ to explode.

He plucked them out of Dobby's grasp, picking up the elf as he started to stumble from the force. Tipping the contents of the tray into his mouth, Grawp sighed contentedly. The growling in his stomach would cease for a few more hours.

Now, on a partially filled stomach, Grawp leaned back again to go to sleep.

"Grawp will squish Dobby!" exclaimed the house-elf as he lay down.

Grawp only moved to lay on his side, cuddling the panicked house-elf close like the rocks he used to hug in the mountains.


	46. Iron-filled Food (Katie & Leanne)

**AN: Written for the Prompt Sweep Challenge!**

Iron-filled Food (Katie/Leanne)

Leanne laughed as Katie detailed Oliver's horror at the state of her Quidditch kit. The brunette sat opposite her put on a terrible Scottish accent in an attempt to mimic her captain.

"Katie, what happened? Your kit is a state! And what is this… this _fur?_ " exclaimed Katie in a ridiculous attempt to get Oliver's voice right. "Since I've got Quidditch practice right after this, I made sure to get a house-elf to remove any dirt from it this time."

"What was the fur anyway?" asked Leanne.

Katie's brown eyes lit up. "Your hair!"

Leanne groaned. "It keeps falling out. I've tried loads of hair products and nothing's working. Mum says I might be anaemic."

"Anaemic?" asked Katie.

Leanne grinned at the pureblood witch; she was a halfblood herself, with her mother being a Muggle, and Katie's endless lack of knowledge about small things like escalators and pens always amused her.

"It's what they call iron deficiency," she answered, but Katie still looked confused. "It's just that I've not been eating enough spinach, and other things that have high iron content."

"Oh, alright," said Katie with a chuckle. "I'll make sure you get loads of iron from now on."

Leanne couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, love."

The Three Broomsticks was abuzz with activity, and Leanne caught sight of the toilets on the other side of the crowded pub.

"I'll just be a minute," she told Katie, who nodded and turned to her butterbeer.

She was only gone for two minutes, but when she returned to her seat, the table in front of her was laden with pasta, spinach, dried fruit, and pistachios.

"Katie?" asked Leanne, looking at her grinning girlfriend in confusion.

"Yes?"

"What is all this?"

"Iron-filled food!" exclaimed Katie.

Leanne gaped at the food in awe. "How did you get it all so fast?"

"Well, it only took me a couple of minutes to ask Hermione over there about foods with high iron content and then a couple more to ask Ros to prepare them—and magic prepared it all quickly," Katie added with a wink.

Leanne shook her head and laughed, leaning across the table to give Katie a kiss. "Would Oliver mind if I stole you from Quidditch practice for an hour?"

Katie pursed her lips. "He'd kill me," she said solemnly, but then, batting her eyelashes dramatically, she said, "but I'd die for you."

Leanne burst out laughing. "Help me eat all of this, drama queen, and we'll have fun for an hour," she said, looking at Katie fondly.

"Sounds like a plan," said Katie, and the two of them tucked in.


	47. Newt Out of Water (Salazar & Godric)

**AN: For Camp Potter!**

Newt Out of Water (Salazar Slytherin)

He was still alive. There was no doubt about that—so then why did it feel as if his heart had stopped, only to begin racing madly. Had he just escaped death?

Helga's chuckle from beside him made him jump and search her eyes for an explanation. They were all in the Great Hall, and it was the last day before Hogwarts' doors opened to welcome the first students.

"Sal, why do yo—"

" _Salazar._ "

"Sal."

He huffed in annoyance. "Please continue, Helga."

Helga smirked in triumph, and as she began speaking again, Salazar added her smug look to her side of the scoreboard. They weren't in an active competition, but Salazar enjoyed balancing out the amount of times they annoyed each other.

"As I was saying, or rather, asking—"

"Helga."

"Sorry, sorry, I'll hurry," she said with another chuckle at his impatience. "Why do you always look like a newt without water whenever Godric smiles at you?"

Salazar gaped at his friend. She had said some ridiculous things during their time as companions, but really, a newt without water?

"Exactly like you look now, actually!" exclaimed Helga, causing the other two founders to turn and look at them.

Salazar sputtered indignantly for a moment. "When have I ever done that?"

Helga shook her head with a grin. "Quite literally, just now, and moments ago when he finished his dessert and gave you a smile."

"Are you talking about his newt out of water expression?" asked Rowena with a smirk.

"I do no—"

"Are you talking about my smile?" asked Godric with an arched eyebrow.

Rowena and Helga grinned at each other, but didn't say a word, somehow understanding the panicked look in Salazar's eyes.

"Are you really not going to answer me?" asked Godric incredulously. There was a pause and Salazar registered, with no small amount of dread, the wicked look on his foolhardy colleague's face.

"Well, if you insist on not telling me…" he said with calculating eyes Salazar would have been proud of at any time but now.

Godric raised his hand and placed it on Salazar's shoulder. A jolt of something his mind was racing too fast to identify passed through his body and then there were those deep amber eyes. The corners of Godric's eyelids quirked upwards, in perfect synchronicity with his smile, and Salazar felt his knees goes weak.

"It is me!" exclaimed the head of Gryffindor, releasing Salazar from his almost hypnotic grip, and despite feeling slightly heady, Salazar cringed internally at the thought of what Godric would do with his newfound weakness.

 _(As it turned out, Godric's use of his weapon of choice usually came at lunchtimes, where he decided to flash unexpected grins at Salazar—just to see how he'd recover himself in front of the students. It never got any less irritating.)_


	48. Let Me Explain (Dean & Seamus)

**AN: For Camp Potter 2017!**

Let Me Explain (Dean/Seamus)

"Let me explain!" called out Dean, jogging to catch up with Seamus. The leaves crunched under his feet, the reds and browns highlighted by the sun's rising and the halo of anger radiating from the young Irishman.

"Explain what?" asked Seamus, his Irish accent punctuated by his anger. "Why you didn't send me _one_ letter during the holidays? Or why you disappeared without a trace—only so I could find out you were alive through your _radio channel_?"

"Seamus—"

"Seamus, what? Do you know how worried I was—how worried we all were?"

"If I'd have messaged you, it would have put you—and everyone else in danger. And trust me when I say it would have been so dangerous that you'd forget all your concerns about me."

Seamus tried to interrupt, looking outraged, but Dean continued.

"I kept trust in the fact you'd find Potterwatch, and that you'd find me—and you did," he added softly.

Under the canopy provided by the Forbidden Forest, Dean stepped closer to Seamus, registering his flushed face.

"I know you're angry; I knew you would be—"

"Too bloody right," said Seamus, but there was no real venom in his words.

The two of them stood, completely silent, before Seamus whispered:

"Never do that to me again."

A painful lump rose in Dean's throat at the pain and pure relief in Seamus' voice, and as he unsuccessfully tried swallowing it down, he allowed a strangled promise of _I won't_ pass by his lips.


End file.
